High Flying Adored
by Epic Laughter
Summary: The local tinker's apprentice had his eye on Storkos for as long as he can remember. When a shocking event occurs, he has to work side-by-side with her in order to fix things. Needless to say, he's delighted to have a chance to impress her! StorkosxOC.
1. Panic at the P Factor

"Tonight's the night, Yen!" Yoto announced, his voice bursting at the seams with excitement. He was actually wearing a _suit_ as he struggled to brush his hair to an acceptable state of detanglement. His loyal (and loud) Parrybo, Potato, was perched on top of Yoto's mirror and occasionally letting out a squawk of encouragement.

Yen sat on Yoto's bed, his knees drawn up to his chest and his feet bare. Yen hadn't even bothered to begin dressing up yet…considering this evening's P-Factor wasn't for another eight hours. "Did you…hit your head or something?" Yen drawled as Yoto's joyful humming became strained as he tried to tug a particularly stubborn knot out of his hair. "You _washed your hair,_ you're _wearing a suit…_you're actually getting ready _in advance…"_ One of the dark brows of Yen's mask arched. "You aren't my brother. What did you do with him?"

"You don't know why tonight is so special?" Yoto gasped and whirled to face his brother. He took his hands off the brush and it remained hanging off the side of his head, still clinging to the stubborn knot.

"Yen is stupid! Yen is stupid!" Potato sing-songed and earned himself a look of immense annoyance from Yen.

"Yen is _not_ stupid," Yen glared even harder at the bird. "Yen is confused."

Potato looked at Yen for a long, long time, slowly cocked his head to the side, opened his mouth, and squawked:

"Yen is stupid!"

Yoto laughed uproariously and patted his Parrybo on the head.

Yen buried his mask in his knees in frustration. "Mind clearing this up, Yoto?" he murmured.

"Tonight is the night where I'm going to be judging a P-Factor round…with _Storkos_ in the seat next to me!" Yoto swooned and folded his hands over his heart. "If she sees me all dressed up, she'll probably become even _more_ interested!"

"She's interested in _you?"_ Yen's head snapped up and he looked at Yoto in slack-jawed disbelief. "Are you deluding yourself again? Remember when we were kids and you were so deluded you thought you could fly? You jumped off of Uncle Bart's caravan and landed on your stomach and broke-"

"Oh, come _on,_ the scar I got is pretty neato! Chicks _dig_ scars," Yoto posed smugly. He really didn't look too extraordinary with a gigantic brush hanging off the side of his head. "And she was pretty dang impressed when she learned I was a Tinker, and she called me 'sweet!'" Yoto sighed. "Not to mention she had nothing but praise for me when she heard about the alternate universe incident…"

"I still can't believe you did that," Yen shook his head.

"I'm going to go for it, Yen," Yoto finally grabbed onto the brush and pulled as hard as he could. "Damn it, it's stuck…!"

Yen smirked. "Would Storkos really like a guy who can't even get a brush out of his own hair? You'll probably wind up having to go to P-Factor with that."  
>A look of complete, utter horror overcame Yoto's face. "UNCLE BAAAAART!" he yelled as he rushed out of the room like a Cluckles away from a hungry Pretztail.<p>

Yen shook his head and sprawled onto his back. "Good luck, Yoto…" Yen murmured, even though he knew very well that Yoto couldn't hear. "You're gonna need it.'

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"I swear, boy," Bart huffed as he placed the recently yanked out, hair-wadded brush on the coffee table. "Sometimes I can't decide if you're nineteen or nine."

"That was an _emergency,"_ Yoto pouted and crossed his arms, further confusing his uncle about his true age. "I can't go to the P-Factor with a brush stuck to my head! I'd look stupid!"

"Since when do you care about how foolish you look?" Bart narrowed his eyes.

Yoto simply blushed, looked down, and shuffled his feet.

"Oh. OH," Bart barked a laugh. "Storkos is in this round, isn't she? You want to look good for her!"

"Not just in it, she's _judging…_in the seat next to _me!"_ Yoto actually bit a squeal in two and jammed his fingers into his mouth.

"Oh, your affections for that poor young lady are so sickening…" Bart shook his head. "You barely spoke to her. How are you sure you're right for each other?"  
>"I can just <em>feel<em> it!" Yoto hugged himself. "Whenever I look at her, I feel an explosion bursting inside of me, like a hot jet of lava, only it's not lava, it's _love!"_

Bart gave Yoto a flat look. "Boy, just because a woman gives you an erection upon sight doesn't mean she's the right girl for you. I learned that the hard way."

"HAHA, 'HARD' way! Good one, Uncle Bart!" Yoto smacked his uncle on the shoulder and Bart couldn't help letting a chuckle slip.

"I am _serious,_ though, boy," Bart's laughter faded as quickly as it had come. "Get to _know_ her before you make any moves. I know how you are, you'll see an opportunity and you'll jump on her faster than I can transmogrify an apple…and whatever you do…" Bart grabbed his nephew's shoulders and leaned in so close that the tip of his hat overshadowed Yoto's head. "_Don't. Read. Her. Your. Abysmal. Poetry."_

"Aww, man," Yoto huffed. "How will she know I like her then?"

"Be patient, boy," Bart leaned away and brushed himself off. Yoto might have taken a shower, but Bart always considered his nephew to be terribly unclean. "I rushed into four marriages and left all of those poor women at the altar. Don't you _dare_ break Storkos' heart like that. I'm still ashamed of what I did to those women…not to mention that I still think that Luciana's father is after my blood…" Bart shuddered audibly at the thought of that imposing old man. When he had caught the two of them in bed together, his head nearly exploded and he _demanded_ that Bart marry his daughter or he would import a gun and shoot him.

Bart hadn't seen hide nor hair of that old man since the wedding's sudden "cancellation", especially since he took his Tinkering business to the other side of the Island. Thank goodness.

"I wouldn't leave Storkos at the altar, are you _crazy?"_ Yoto leapt up off the couch. "There's something there; I KNOW it! She's perfect for me, and I'm perfect for her!"  
>"Your confidence is…" Bart sighed. "Equal parts frightening and inspiring. Just promise me you won't rush into this?"<br>"I'm going to impress her and she is going to think I'm the coolest guy ever!" Yoto tugged the collar of his suit jacket. "I'll be the best judge tonight; on my best behavior, charming the crowds!" Yoto smoothed his recently washed hair and gave his best impression of Eddie's million-dollar smile.

"Oh, yes, yes…" Bart resisted the urge to bury his mask in his hands. "Good luck with that, boy."

"Thank you!" Yoto misinterpreted Bart's tone of voice and beamed like a Galagoogoo who found a garden full of tulips. "Well, I'm off!" Yoto darted for the door.

"What? The P-Factor isn't for another-" Bart protested as he rose from the couch himself.

"It's nice to arrive fashionably early! Storkos will think I'm responsible!" And with a giggle and a spring in his step, Yoto was gone.

Bart shook his head, ambled to the kitchen, and uncorked a bottle of wine.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Eddie had had it up to here with Yoto.

Not only did he arrive five hours early, but he also followed Eddie around like a baby Barkbark, drooling in excitement over the upcoming P-Factor round.

"You're supposed to examine the _piñatas,_ Yoto," Eddie sighed as he draped himself over one of the sofas in the P-Factor lounge, exhausted after putting up with Yoto's yammering for four and a half hours. "_Not_ your fellow judges, no matter how much affection you have for that poor woman, we can't afford distractions. We'll lose our credibility if the judges can't focus on doing their jobs!"

"Oh, Eddie, I'm gonna do AWESOME!" Yoto grinned like a fool and bounced up and down. "I wanna impress Storkos, remember? I'm going to be on my best behavior for her!"

Eddie slammed a palm into his forehead and slowly brought it down his face, squishing his nose in the process. "I'll believe it when I see it, Yoa…"

"Oh, you'll see it, all right!" Yoto giggled and sat down in another lounge chair.

"If you're telling the truth, I'll make sure you two are in more rounds together," Eddie gave Yoto a thin smile. "How's _that_ for motivation?"

"AMAZING!" Yoto jumped out of the chair and hugged Eddie around his neck. "I _love _you, man!" Yoto kissed the top of Eddie's head and leapt back into his former seat.

The patrons finally began to trickle in after Eddie returned from washing and blow-drying his hair in the bathroom. First to arrive was Seedos, who had a Shellybean on his shoulder and a grim look on his face.

"Nice to see you, Seedos," Eddie smiled at him and marked his name down on the clipboard. "And you actually dressed up! Why do you look so down, though? Stage fright?" Eddie's tone was sympathetic, but he received nothing but a grumpy grunt in response.

The fact was Seedos wasn't too big on the suit that Storkos had bought for him, nor the fact that he had to wear shoes. Not going barefoot always felt so…unnatural to him. He cast aside the dress shoes Storkos recommended and instead opted to wear flip-flops. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked; the less his feet were covered, the better.

The Shellybean on his shoulder was Taru, one that was born in the swamp a few years after Seedos ran off into it. He was a yellow variant and the healthiest out of Seedos' Shellybeans, so he figured he would be the best bet for this show. Seedos didn't get the chance to compete much, but when he did, he _loved_ to win. A bit of prize money would make him happy; he could actually eat decent meals for a few weeks!

Next to arrive was Lottie, who was completely decked out in glittery jewelry and an even glitterier blue gown with a slit up the side that went up a bit too high for comfort. She had a completely accessory-free purple Lickatoad in her enormous handbag, God forbid she dress it up with accessories sold by her greatest competitor!

"Oh, Eddie, you look so cute, I could just _eat you up!"_ The bangles on Lottie's arm clangled as she reached out and pinched Eddie's cheek much too hard. "Who will be judging this evening? Hopefully they're all of fantastic taste!"

Eddie blinked away a tear and showed her the list. Lottie screwed up her nose.

"A bunch of _children?_ Ugh, they better know a good piñata when they see one; I could always use more Chocolate Coins!" She giggled much too loudly as she made her way over to a particularly lavish couch.

Avalon was next, with a gigantic, imposing Crowla resting on her shoulder. Eddie knew Cid very well; he was a Crowla that was ancient in age, impressive in size, and enormous in attitude. Avalon always managed to keep the remarkable bird under control, which Eddie found extremely admirable. Cid wasn't the only impressive thing about this new arrival, though.

"Wow, you look _gorgeous!"_ Eddie couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. He didn't usually like earthy tones, but they worked well for Avalon. Avalon was in a brown, patterned dress that went down to the middle of her calves and she wore gigantic high heeled boots. She looked even taller and more intimidating than usual. With her status, height, and build, she tended to render newbie gardeners quaking in their boots when she was in her normal clothes. The added height really added to the intimidation factor…but Eddie simply thought that made her look all the more stunning.

"Gardening's a dirty job," Avalon tossed a bit of her inky hair over her shoulder. "I think I deserve to look nice once in a while."

"No complaints from me, ma'am!" Eddie winked at her. "Good luck!"

"Thanks, Eddie," Avalon gave him a smile and a firm handshake that left Eddie's delicate hand just a little bit sore.

A few minutes later, someone covered Eddie's eyes.

"Guess who, Eddiekins~?" an unmistakable, purring voice cooed.

"Dastardos?" Eddie narrowed his eyes behind the gloved hands covering them.

"NO, I can't believe you'd be so mean!" Eddie's eyes were uncovered and he was whirled around to see the pouting face of Petula. "I was, like, going to go to a party in the city, but I came here to judge, just for you, and you mistake me for…for an ugly _dead_ guy?"

"No, no, Petula!" Eddie waved his free hand around as he did his best to backpedal. He _hated_ offending women; he really should have thought that comment through more. "That comment was in jest; I knew it was you, and you look absolutely lovely." For good measure, Eddie took Petula's hand and placed a quick kiss on it. She had obviously dressed in hopes of catching his eye; the neckline of her fluffy pastel pink and yellow dress went all the way down to her belly button. Was it even_ legal_ for a seventeen year old girl to walk around wearing that? Eddie hoped Petula's parents wouldn't be in the audience…

Petula giggled girlishly and Eddie breathed a mental sigh of relief. "Make sure you give me a good introduction, sweetie!" Petula winked lewdly at him. "It's going to be hard to focus on the piñatas with such a sexy emcee!" With that, she flounced off to gossip with Fannie, who would be spectating this P-Factor round.

Storkos flew into the room grandly, her long skirt flapping behind her. She smoothed her dress and grinned at Eddie. "Told ya I'd make it in time."

"Good for you!" Eddie beamed. "Langston is giving you time off?"  
>"No one really breeds their piñatas during P-Factor rounds," Storkos dismissed Eddie with a flick of her hand. "Most gardeners are competing or spectating! Langston's actually watching this round."<p>

Yoto watched Storkos chat with Eddie from a distance. He felt the bones in his legs slowly turning to jelly and a lovesick smile overtook his face. He was glad his pants were fairly loose; he would embarrass himself when he stood up to judge the piñatas otherwise! That dress did an amazing job highlighting Storkos' thick curves. Now _that_ was a woman!

Yoto was too caught up in Storkos to notice his twin brother arrive with Leena in tow. She was a bit scared to be walking around alone when it was getting dark, so Yen had agreed to escort her there. She refused to listen to his assurances that the Island's population of murderers and rapists was pretty much nonexistent.

Yen just wore a simple, pattern-free black suit. Where on Earth did he _find_ such a thing on Piñata Island? Such awful taste…and he called himself a born-and-raised Islander!

Eddie resisted making a snooty comment about Yen's fashion sense. Yen had been a last-minute slot fill for the show, and Eddie was grateful that he had the correct amount of judges.

Leena looked cute, at least. She had on a fluffy little green and white dress. Did she choose that for herself? She didn't seem the type to have much of a fashion sense, either…

Oh well, no complaints. Eddie greeted them both warmly.

"I…I hope I don't mess up…" Leena fiddled with her hands and Eddie placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Just be honest, and you'll do fine," Eddie gave her his million dollar smile and Leena nearly fainted.

Yen shook his head. He never approved of Eddie's charming lies. Eddie had told Leena the exact same thing a few months ago, and Leena still wound up getting so nervous that she threw up all over the judging table. Oh well, hopefully tonight would be vomit-free…

"When are we starting?" Yen drawled, his eyes scanning over the crowd. Quite a few people were here; he was sure the rest of the stars of the show were in there somewhere.

"There's…there's one person left…" Eddie swallowed as he looked at the list and tugged at his collar. "I…don't think people will be too happy with his company."

"Oh, _God…_" Yen buried his mask in his hands.

"I-it's not Pester, is it?" Leena began to violently gnaw on her nails.

"Not quite _that _bad…" Eddie smiled goobaaishly.

As if on cue, the front doors of the P-Factor Hall burst open with a _bang!_ as they hit the walls.

"That better not have _dented!"_ Eddie shrieked and tore at his hair.

"Sorry I'm late, I was getting dressed."

Dastardos' voice was as smirky as his face. He was obviously joking; he was wearing the same tattered sweater, jeans, and scarf that he always wore. A Vulchurro that was almost as big as he was perched on top of his head, glaring at every other piñata in the room.

"Nice to see all of you," Dastardos' good eye scanned over the silent room, lingering a moment longer on Seedos and Avalon. "No need to stare, people; we can just get down to business. Victor here wants a win under his wing."

The Vulchurro on Dastardos' head let out a loud call in agreement.

"I agree with the creepy dude for once!" Yoto jostled Eddie's shoulder. "C'mon, Eddie, let's get to factoring P's!"

Eddie let out a long sigh. He had a bad feeling about this round, but he couldn't quite place why. He still managed to put on a fake grin for the crowd.

"Let's all enter the stage in an orderly fashion. It's time for the P-Factor!"

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

The four competitors stood (or floated, in Dastardos' case) proudly onstage. Dastardos seemed a bit distracted, his hands behind his back and absent-mindedly swaying back and forth, his Vulchurro at his feet.

The crowd clapped politely for Seedos (apart from Storkos, who applauded thunderously), barely clapped at all when Lottie was introduced, much to her chagrin, and erupted into loud cheers for Avalon. No wonder; Avalon was quite a prolific gardener!

When Eddie introduced Dastardos, the crowd devolved into a torrent of boos, particularly loud ones coming from Doc Patchingo. That broke Dastardos out of his trance and he blew the crowd a mocking kiss.

"Look at those piñatas! We have quite an impressive display today, especially those avian _marvels!"_ Eddie gushed in an attempt to calm the booing crowd. "I'm not a judge this round, but that Vulchurro of Dastardos looks…much healthier than I expected!" He gave Dastardos a polite smile.

"I keep Victor on a strict diet of damned souls," Dastardos drawled with a straight expression. Seedos rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"That's…very unique." Eddie's smile visibly faltered. "Anyway, I'm not the one to pass judgment, so let me turn it over to our wonderful judges! Miss Leena Collins, you're up first!"

"Eep!" Leena jumped out of her chair like a startled Robean and flitted up to the stage.

"Leena Collins is an up-and-coming gardener," Eddie talked to the crowd as Leena leaned over to examine Seedos' Shellybean, patting him on the head with a smile on her face. "She might be new at this, but she knows a good piñata when she sees one! Do you have a verdict, Leena?" Eddie turned to face her and gave her his million dollar smile.

"Um…" Leena was grateful that the many spotlights made the audience nigh-impossible to see. She blushed and fiddled with her hands. "I think he's really cute…and he seems smart…I like him a lot."

Seedos beamed at Leena's verdict, but his smile quickly fell when Petula called out:

"Um, Leena?" she chortled. "You're supposed to, like, judge the _piñatas,_ not the _people!"_

The audience burst into hysterical laughter and Seedos tugged on his collar so hard that he nearly ripped it, his eyes on the floor. Yoto had to put his hands over his mouth to keep from bursting into laughter in front of Storkos. She surely wouldn't approve, she was glaring daggers at Petula!

"I…I was…" Leena's cheeks turned so red that she would put a Ruffian to shame. "Um…_theotherpiñatasarenicetoo bye!"_ Leena ran back to the judging table and began scribbling on her judging card like crazy, her face turning even redder. Once she was done scribbling, she used the card to cover her burning face. Avalon gave poor Leena a look of sympathy and Dastardos gave Seedos a patronizing wink. Seedos glared right back at him.

"Okay, okay, that's _enough!"_ Eddie scolded the still hysterical crowd. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"BUT IT WAS FUNNY!" Bear's unmistakable voice boomed. "LEENA, YOU GOT TERRIBLE TASTE! BEAR CAN'T TELL THAT NERD APART FROM HIS PIÑATA!"

That got the audience laughing again. Storkos slammed her fists into the judging table, rose to her feet, and yelled _"KNOCK IT OFF!"_

Everyone went completely and utterly silent, apart from Seedos, who gave a small sigh of relief, and Yoto, who gave an ENORMOUS sigh of adoration.

"Sorry," Storkos cleared her throat and smoothed her dress. "Please move on, Eddie."

"Gladly," Eddie smiled. "Next up is Yen Yoa, he's…um…" Dang, Eddie really didn't know much about Yen, did he? Um…hmm…he knew he was Yoto's brother, but he acted nothing like him (thank _God)_, he had a tendency to disappear for long periods of time, and…hmm…that really was all he knew. Eddie would have to do some digging later or that would bug him. For now, the best intro he could come up with was: "Yen is Yoto's twin brother and he's really quite a man of mystery!"

"I didn't know you had a brother…" Storkos blinked at Yoto. Yoto spluttered like a lawnmower in response. Dang it, why couldn't he talk to her tonight? Must be the exposed cleavage. It was really hard to focus all of his brain power on not staring and talk at the same time.

Yen snorted at Eddie's comment and he made his way through the piñatas. He was completely silent as he sized them up, until he made his way to Dastardos and his Vulchurro.

"…do you really feed him damned souls?" Yen asked, making eye contact with the reaper. His voice was full of honest curiosity and his blue eyes looked genuinely inquisitive.

"What if I do?" Dastardos folded his arms and smirked.

Yen gave Dastardos a thin smile. "…that's neat. I didn't know piñatas could sustain themselves on a spiritual concept," Yen's comment baffled Victor enough for Yen to give the papery feathers on his head a quick ruffle.

Yen returned to the judging table and took full interest in his score card. Yoto shook his head.

"He's a little…" he whispered to Storkos and made the cuckoo sign. At her raised brow, he quickly added "I love 'em, though. Good brother."

"Glad you do. You're lucky you can live with such a good family," Storkos smiled in approval and Yoto's heart very nearly exploded. If only she knew how crazy his family could be…it would probably be better if she didn't.

"Next up is the ever-so-lovely Paper Pets store owner, Miss Petula!" Eddie gestured to her with a flourish and she giggled with glee. As she walked up to the stage, Eddie prayed that she wouldn't stage a "wardrobe malfunction" for attention.

She didn't, thankfully, and her final verdict was "They're all gross, _ugh!_ I don't like _any_ of them! This round _sucks,"_ Petula pouted all the way back to the judge table and stared at her card as if that would help her magically make a decision. She closed her eyes and picked one and wound up with Avalon's Crowla. Good enough. She gave him the most amount of points.

"Next up is Yoto Yoa!" Eddie gestured to Yoto with a flourish and the spotlight followed Yoto as he made his way to the stage. He felt a glow inside when he heard Storkos let out a "WOO, go for it!"

"Yoto is Bart the Tinker's apprentice. Apparently, he has great potential, so there's a good possibility he'll inherit his uncle's business!" Eddie shrugged with a smile.

In the third row of the audience, Bart shook his head. He would be tinkering until the day he died, and when he did die, he'd do his darn best to rise from the dead and pry his precious business away from his nephew's fumbly hands.

"Seedos, I still can't look at Shellybeans right since one of your baby ones crawled into my pants," Yoto shuddered profusely. "He's definitely not the worst in show, though!" Yoto backpedaled and gave Seedos a big old grin. "He's a nice color. I like the yellow. Just keep him away from my pants."

"I don't think anything ever should go near your pants," Seedos mumbled, and, much to Yoto's chagrin, Seedos' lapel mic picked it up. Petula burst into loud, snorting laughter. Storkos just shook her head with a smirk.

Yoto felt his heart drop at that comment. _Oh God, Storkos is going to think Seedos hates me…gotta make this look good…gotta make this look good…_

"G-good one, buddy!" Yoto hopped on the stage for a moment to give Seedos a good natured punch on the arm, and then jumped back off and headed over to Lottie.

"That's a…Lickatoad," Yoto squinted at the little purple frog piñata, leaning forward so they were at eye level.

"Yes it is, Captain Obvious," Lottie harrumphed. "Just tell me what you think of her!"

Yoto straightened up, looked Lottie in the eye, and his voice became very, very serious. "I _hate_ Lickatoads."

Somewhere in the audience, a single tear rolled down Langston's papery face.

"There, there, it's okay…" Leafos patted him on the head and began to sob harder.

"I'll feel better…if…if…" Langston sniffled. "You let me…sit in your lap…?"

"Not gonna happen, Langston, sorry," Leafos immediately withdrew her hand and Langston slumped so much he became a green, papery blob of misery.

"Well, I never!" Lottie stomped a foot and Yoto shrugged.

"Hey, our opinions are supposed to be honest!" Yoto gave Lottie a dapper smile and tugged on his suit jacket. "Just doing my job, ma'am."

Avalon smiled as Yoto strolled in front of her. She was pleased to see that he wasn't lying about being on his best behavior in front of Storkos. If only they could be in the same room all the time, it would save the Island a whole lot of headache!

"Oh, Avalon, you know I think Cid is an awesome bird!" Yoto grinned at Cid and Cid let out a mighty caw. Yoto took a reflexive step back. "…a scary bird, but still, a really, _really_ awesome bird! How much is he worth now?"

Avalon named a chocolate coin price that made everyone in the audience suck in a collective gasp. Lottie began to eye Cid like he was a tantalizing piece of candy. Cid glowered back at the pushy shopkeeper.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Yoto made a big show of reeling back. "Is Avalon awesome, or is she _awesome?"_ Yoto waved his arms at the audience until they erupted into applause.

"Oh, stop it, Yoto," Avalon half-smiled and flicked her hand at him.

"I mean every word, Avvie," Yoto grinned at her before shuffling over to Dastardos. He squinted at Victor and frowned. "This bird is scary in a different way…"

"I'd tell him to eat your soul," Dastardos yawned. "…but you're a ginger and you don't have one. Victor's going to starve tonight and it's your fault."

"Why do you even _come_ here?" Yoto straightened up and gave Dastardos what he hoped was an intimidating glare. "Just to mess with people and ruin everyone's day?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Dastardos laughed with a shrug. Storkos buried her mask in her hands and Seedos shook his head.

"We're not judging the _people,_ Mr. Yoa," Eddie chastised with a wiggle of his index finger and a click of his tongue. "My father believes in second chances, and Dastardos has been just fine, apart from a little harmless ribbing. Please return to your seat at the judging table."

Dastardos put his hands behind his back and grinned as innocently as his disgustingly twisted mask would allow. Yoto complied and headed back to the judge's table, but not before giving Dastardos a quick "I've-got-my-eye-on-you" gesture.

Yoto gave Avalon all of the points he possibly could. Bias or not, her Crowla was quite a sight to behold!

Storkos took all of Yoto's attention when she went up to judge. She embarrassed Seedos by gushing over how good he looked in his suit, and Yoto noticed Leena blushing in agreement out of the corner of his eye. Storkos suggested to Seedos that he should get a few flying piñatas to help him search for seeds, but Seedos shook his head rapidly. His Shellybeans worked just fine, thank you!

Storkos gave Lottie's Lickatoad nothing more than a "meh," which made the old woman plant her hands on her hips and huff in irritation. Looks like the prize money wouldn't be hers! Damn it!

Storkos wasn't a fan of Lickatoads. When you have a sentient, talking one bossing you around every day, you get sick of them quick.

"Avalon, can I see Cid's wingspan?" Storkos asked; her eyes wide with wonder. Cid hopped on Avalon's head and spread his wings out as far as they could go. The audience oooohed, and so did Storkos.

"WOW!" Storkos bounced with joy and nearly caused Yoto to fall out of his chair. "What a piñata! He's wonderful!"

Cid seemed flattered by the praise. He hopped back onto Avalon's shoulder and offered Storkos a wing and a beaky smile.

Storkos gave the wing a quick, affectionate squeeze. "Think you just might have my vote, big guy," she whispered to Cid. Avalon heard that little comment, and couldn't help a proud smile from crossing her face.

Storkos took a deep breath before walking over to Dastardos and turning her attention to Victor. "Glad to see you're behaving," she said as much to Dastardos as to Victor. "Even if you do feed on a diet of damned souls, you're one awesome-looking bird!"

Victor let out a loud cry as if to say "DAMN RIGHT I AM!" Dastardos snickered.

Storkos straightened up and gave Dastardos a lingering suspicious squint before returning to her seat next to Yoto.

"The judges will now total up their scores!" Eddie laughed with glee. "I'll announce the winner of our _wonderful_ 15,000 chocolate coin prize in just a few minutes!"

"G-good job out there…" Yoto managed to whisper to Storkos, his face hot.

"Thanks, you too," Storkos looked up from her score card to smile warmly at him. Dang it, they were so close! She smelled great; like vanilla. She had worn perfume and had even meticulously braided her hair. That was a really, REALLY nice outfit, too. Was she dressed to impress…?

_No, no, no, Yoto, don't read into it too much, _Yoto gave Storkos a goofy grin before returning his attention to his scorecard.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"I've got our wonderful winner's name right here in this envelope!" Eddie waved a sparkling purple and pink patterned envelope in the air.

Yoto barely resisted making a comment about that envelope being the gayest envelope he ever saw.

"I don't understand why he has to make the announcement such a big deal like that…" Yen rested his chin on the table and shut his eyes. "He could just count the votes and be done with it."  
>"It's called, like, <em>showmanship,"<em> Petula huffed. "Plus we get to hear that sexy voice of his more! Everyone is happy!"

Yen snorted. "Says you."

"Shh, Yen," Yoto shushed him. "Eddie's opening the envelope!"

"Ahh, our winner is the lovely Avalon Pendragonache!" Eddie joined the audience in rousing applause. "Not a big surprise, with her gardening expertise, she's got quite a few wins under her belt already! Do you have anything to say to your fans, Avalon?"

The rest of the stage went dark and the spotlight settled on Avalon, who was smiling proudly with Cid perched at her feet.

"Thank you, Eddie. I just want to say that if yew work 'ard, yew can turn even the most impossible plot of land into an amazing garden," Avalon winked at Leena. "'Ard work is the key, and it always pays off in the end! If yew ask me-"

_CLUNK!_

Avalon's eyes rolled back and she began to crumple to the ground. Before she could, Dastardos swept over and caught her. Her head lolled against his shoulder and her legs hung limply over his arms. She was knocked completely out cold.

"WHAT?" Seedos cried out in shock. Leena and Petula screamed so loudly that the overhead lights shook. Both of Yen's eyebrows shot up and his lips parted, which was his way of screaming hysterically.

Dastardos turned to grin at the audience and Avalon's head rolled off his shoulder and began to hang off of his other arm, her dark hair spilling everywhere. "Love to stick around, but I've got a delivery to make!" With that, he began floating off as fast as he could, kicking Lottie off the stage as he passed her. She fell to the ground with a loud CRASH and she moaned dramatically in pain.

Lottie was ignored in all of the pandemonium, though. Half of the audience screamed and began to scramble around, having absolutely no clue what to do. The other half just sat frozen in their seats, their jaws on the floor.

"GOD DAMN IT, DASTARDOS!" Yoto and Storkos yelled in unison and leapt to their feet. They rushed around the table and began to give chase, but they froze in their tracks when the gigantic TV screen over the stage crackled to life and an enormous red face took it over.

"Hello, particularly putrid populace!" Professor Pester's giant head cracked up laughing. His laughter echoed terrifyingly around the theater.

"PESTER!" Storkos' voice was filled with raw hatred. She spat his name like it was poison. "What the _hell_ are you _doing?"_

"Ahahaha!" Pester laughed horrifically again and grinned, happy to be showing off his exceptionally sharp teeth on an enormous TV screen. "I want to…discuss some terms with all of you!" His smile widened and Yoto and Storkos exchanged a weary glance.

They had a feeling this was going to be one long night.


	2. The Ransom

"My terms are fairly simple…" Professor Pester's acid eyes scanned the crowd and then the shocked judges and competitors. "For the safe return of Avalon Pendragonache, I would like a ransom. An _enormous_ ransom. Twelve crates of candy and twenty crates of Chocolate Coins!" Pester's grin widened. "Not those paltry copper coins either. Big gold ones. I need to fund a new…project."

"I REFUSE to contribute!" Lottie yelled from the ground as she clutched her wounded hip.

"I wasn't asking _you,_ woman," Pester's enormous eyes glared right at Lottie and she felt a chill run up her spine. She usually had nerves of steel, but Professor Pester staring you down on an enormous Jumbo-Tron would be too much for _anyone_ to take.

"Avalon is one of Piñata Central's most successful gardeners," Professor Pester chuckled. "It's _sickening_ how much care and effort she puts into that garden of hers. Without her, Piñata Central's success will _plummet_ and her wonderful garden will fall into disrepair!"  
>"Oh NO!" Langston gasped. The very <em>thought<em> of his system collapsing…that was enough to make him want to puke up every last sweet in his candy cavity!

"The sooner you get me the ransom, the better!" Professor Pester burst into cackling laughter. "Avalon's stay won't exactly be…comfortable, if you know what I mean!"

And with that, the gigantic television screen switched off, leaving the entire crowd in a stunned silence…which Yoto quickly broke.

"God DAMN IT!" Yoto kicked the stage and immediately regretted that decision. "Why didn't anyone _do_ anything? WHY did we all just sit around like lumps? We NEED to save Avalon!"

"Pester's enormous head on that screen was more than a bit distracting…" Seedos grumbled as he stepped off the stage.

"Wh-what is everyone _waiting _for?" Leena's voice was actually loud and choked with sobs. "We need to start gathering the money together! We can't just let Avalon…we can't let her…ahh!" Leena slammed her head into the judging table and her cries grew louder.

Yen gave Leena a tentative pat on her shoulder. "Eddie," Yen fixed his blue eyes on the catatonic emcee. "Don't _you _have that money? Can't you put a stop to this?"

"I…this…" Eddie dropped to his knees, his eyes so wide that they looked ready to pop out. He couldn't _believe_ a disaster liked this happened at his P-Factor. What if Avalon sued? She was pretty darn rich herself; she could _ruin_ them if she wanted to! Not to mention what this would do to the P-Factor's reputation…

So much for second chances. Eddie would have to give his father another talking-to about villains later! He would have a Moozipan when he learned what happened…all the more to worry about…

"No, no one will need to pay _anything!"_ Storkos leapt onto the stage and planted her hands on her hips. "I'll take it upon myself to bring Avalon back, safe and sound, and no one will have to pay a single chocolate coin or a single piece of caramel!"

The formerly grumbling crowd erupted into cheers.

Yoto gasped as a thought entered his head. If he offered to help Storkos…he could work _side-by-side_ with her! He could spend hours upon _hours_ with the girl of his dreams, conspiring to save his best friend! He _had_ to offer his assistance!

He practically leapt onto the stage next to Storkos. "And I'm gonna help!" He imitated her heroic pose, his lapel mic making his voice soar loudly over the crowd's noise.

The cheers ceased as quickly as they had started.

Everyone cast disbelieving eyes on him.

"Oh, come _on!"_ Yoto frowned. "You all heard about what I did in the alternate universe! Eddie can vouch for me! Can't you, Eddie?" Yoto looked over at Eddie, who had devolved into lying onto his side on the floor, tears in the corners of his eyes and his mouth still gaping open.

"Eddie appears to have turned into a fish," Yoto frowned and pointed at Seedos. _"He_ can vouch for me, though! So can Patch!"

Patch turned a little pink. "Actually, someone else saved-" He was interrupted when Bart covered his mouth.

"Painting Dastardos as a hero in this situation will only confuse, boy," Bart grumbled into Patch's ear. Patch turned even pinker and nodded.

"_Please_ let me help you, Storkos," Yoto folded his hands under his chin and gave her a pleading look. "Avalon is my _best friend._ I won't sleep at night if I knew I couldn't do anything to help her!"

"Oh, Yoto…" Storkos let a small smile cross her face and she shook her head. "Of _course_ you can help me. I'll need a brainstorming partner anyway."

It took everything in Yoto's power not to faint or jump in the air and yell _"WOOOO-HOOOO!"_

Instead, he took a step forward and smiled into Storkos' eyes. "Thank you, I _really_ appreciate it! We'll get Avvie back, safe and sound!"  
>"You heard him, folks!" Storkos turned to face the crowd and draped an arm around Yoto. Every nerve in his body electrified to attention. "We'll work day and night until Avalon is safely returned! And we'll make <em>sure<em> Pester gets the pounding he deserves!" Storkos pumped her fist in the air and the audience cheered again.

Once the cheers died down and the reassured audience began to leave the building, Storkos felt a tug on her skirt. It was Leena, her eyeband sopping wet and her cheeks stained with tears. Despite that, she was smiling.

"Th-thank you, Storkos. Avalon…means a lot to me…" Leena looked down at her feet. All that cheering…Leena felt like she was talking to a celebrity. She hoped she wasn't bugging Storkos.

It was quite the contrary. Leena's concern just motivated Storkos all the more. Leena _loved_ Avalon…the thought of Leena's joy if Storkos safely returned her friend was an amazingly inspirational mental picture. Storkos stepped off the stage and pulled Leena into a hug. "I won't let them lay a _finger_ on her, I _promise."_

When Yen heard that, he took off his lapel mic and left it behind on the judging table.

"You can't promise that," Yen drawled as he walked over. That choked Leena up again and she buried her face into Storkos' shoulder.

Seedos gave Yen a hard punch in the arm. "What the _heck_ was that for? You are _not_ helping!" Seedos hissed through clenched teeth.

"It's called 'being realistic,' Seedos," Yen blew a lock of hair out of his eyes. "For all we know, Avalon could come home with all of her limbs chopped off or impregnated with some kind of evil spawn. Pester is unpredictable. Dastardos is unpredictable." Yen might have been facing Seedos, but he had a faraway look and it seemed like he was looking right through him. "I want her to be okay. But it's not likely." With that, Yen shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off.

Seedos raised a brow at Yen's sudden departure. He had no idea he was so dark-minded…not to mention Seedos had never heard Yen talk so much in his entire life.

"Good luck," Yen whispered to Storkos and Yoto as he walked by them. "You need it."

Meanwhile, Eddie still wasn't sure what had just happened and Petula had helped lift him into a chair.

"You okay?" Petula asked, folding her arms. "Your face is all, like, snotty."

"I can't believe this happened…I can't believe it…" Eddie shook his head. He had been saying pretty much nothing but that since the incident occurred.

From the crowd of exiting audience, a young woman with bouncy white-blonde hair and an exceptionally swirly blue mask came bounding down the aisles. She had a tape recorder in her hand and an enormous grin on her face.

"Eddie Lizard?" Her voice was extraordinarily high pitched and she seemed terribly excited for someone who had just witnessed a kidnapping. "Gigi Gabbins, reporter for the Island Inquirer, and I just witnessed something _truly_ front-page worthy! My photographer got a _load_ of pics, and we're looking forward to raising awareness! Any comments?" She clicked her tape recorder on and she burst into an expectant grin.

"I…can't believe this happened!" Eddie burst into tears again and buried his face in his hands. Great, now there were _reporters._ If the P-Factor went under, his life would be _over._

"Why do you allow villains here in the first place? Why trust _Dastardos,_ of all people? What was your relationship with Avalon Pendragonache?"

A black-haired, bespectacled young man with a full face mask stumbled up behind her, a camera in his hand. "Good, Andy, you're here! Take some shots during this interview!" Gigi gave her photographer an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder and turned her attention back to Eddie.

Eddie sighed deeply. He didn't have the energy to run away. He'd just have to grin and bear it…

Petula, on the other hand, was_ delighted_ to be a part of this interview…not to mention in the background of front page photos in the paper!

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Meanwhile, Dastardos was having more than a bit of trouble with his grand escape.

He was surprised a shovel-toting mob didn't follow him. Heh. Avalon must not be that popular. No wonder; she was one of the bitchiest people Dastardos could think of.

Cid, Avalon's enormous Crowla, _did_ give chase, though. Victor had taken off after Cid, but Cid still circled around Dastardos' head and dizzied him quite a bit.

Crowlas always made Dastardos uneasy. They were very good at moving just right in order to send Dastardos' one good eye spinning. He was so easily distracted and he HATED it!

He hated Crowlas for another reason, too. Back in the day, one of Jardiniero's Crowlas had hopped right up to Stardos and decided it would get a cackle out of biting him right in the balls.

Needless to say, Dastardos was happy he was invulnerable nowadays.

There goes the mind wandering again! UGH! He had to get Avalon to Pester's lair, and FAST!

"It's the dead of night…" Dastardos said to no one in particular. "So no one will see me…everyone's at the P-Factor freaking out…if only I could get rid of this-" Cid thumped Dastardos in the back. It didn't hurt, but it was still annoying as hell. "-FUCKING BIRD!" Dastardos would have shaken his fist at Cid if he wasn't too busy carrying Avalon. Damn, she was _heavy!_ Weren't ladies supposed to be light and soft or something? What the hell kind of lady was this?

Must be weighed down with the sheer amount of bitchiness she harbored within.

"VICTOR!" Dastardos shouted over his shoulder at his Vulchurro. "KNOCK THAT FUCKING BIRD'S HEAD OFF OR I'LL KNOCK OFF YOURS!"

Victor complied; he dove right towards Cid and both of them crumbled to the ground in a mess of wings and confetti. Dastardos heard tearing paper and he smirked to himself. He didn't actually give a Mousemallow's ass about the Vulchurro. He just used him as a reason to participate in the P-Factor and torment everyone. Losing Victor wouldn't be a big deal. He just had to get this bitch to Pester and he would be set for a long, long time! Pester would be so busy holding her for ransom that he wouldn't have time to boss Dastardos around! Sweet deal. Lazing around with Magnar and only going to newbie gardens for a while would be quite the vacation.

Victor, on the other hand, wouldn't be relaxing any time soon; he was still caught up in his scrap with Avalon's Crowla. Cid lost a wing in his scrap with Victor, but he tore off both of Victor's wings and took out a big chunk of his chest in the process. Cid called as loud as he could in his frustration. There was no way he could get Avalon now…or go anywhere! He hoped by some miracle someone would happen by…and soon! He was in quite a bit of pain…

Dastardos could see Pester's volcano coming up on the horizon. So close he could almost feel the heat of the lava radiating off of it!

That was when Avalon stirred in his arms. Dastardos stopped in mid-air and just looked at her in horror. She _couldn't_ wake up yet! He had to make sure she was in the cage first! She could easily wrench herself out of Dastardos' arms!

_Damn, knew I should have hit her harder…_ Dastardos huffed as Avalon's eyes fluttered open.

She could barely see and her head was throbbing. She saw the outline of a twisted mask and a glowing pair of eyes, though. She glared as much as her woozy head would allow and whispered "_Yew…"_ before shutting her eyes again. Her head lolled over Dastardos' arm once more and he couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yew…" Dastardos mocked her accent as he began to head toward the volcano. "What the hell did she mean by 'yew?' There was _no way_ she saw this coming!"

Dastardos smirked down at Avalon's sleeping face as he began to ascend the ramp around the volcano. "Well, Prissy McBitch, I bet you'll have _tons_ of fun hanging around with Pester. My condolences…"

There was a grain of truth in Dastardos' statement. He wouldn't wish being held hostage on Pester on his worst enemy.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Meanwhile, Gigi, the pushy reporter who had been harassing Eddie a few minutes before, had moved on to Storkos and Yoto. She flitted around them like a very excited Robean, her tape recorder in hand.

"Do you have a plan? Have you two worked together before? How do you feel about Avalon? How do you feel about _each other?_ Where'd you get that _lovely_ dress, Storkos? When exactly are you going to go after Avalon? How does it feel to be taking on _two_ villains and God knows how many Ruffians?" Gigi finally sucked in an enormous breath. "Take a photo of our heroes, Andy!" Her photographer snapped a picture of Yoto and Storkos looking very bewildered.

Storkos wasn't sure which question to answer first, but Yoto found his voice and stepped forward before she could answer a single one.

"We'll get Avvie back, I'll do it if it _kills_ me," Yoto's voice and expression were dead serious for once in his life. He shoved away Gigi's tape recorder. "Don't make a big deal out of this, lady! Storkos doesn't need the stress and neither do I!"

Gigi gaped at Yoto as if he had just chopped up her entire family in front of her and proceeded to drink their digestive juices right from the source.

"C'mon, Gi," her photographer jostled her fluffy-sleeved shoulder. "We got more than enough information from Eddie."

"But I wanna learn about the heroics!" Gigi stomped a high-heeled foot and pouted.

"Tell you what…" Storkos gave the reporters a thin smile. "Once the heroics are actually _done_, I'll give you an exclusive."

"Really?" Gigi's eyes lit up like two mini moon lamps and she pulled Storkos into an enormous hug. "Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! If this goes well, I smell a promotion~!" Gigi giggle-cackled and grabbed onto Andy's sleeve. "Let's get out of here~!"

With that, she flounced off, dragging her photographer behind her.

"Whew, thank God _she's_ gone," Yoto sighed and flopped down onto the judging table.

The entire P-Factor Hall was empty now, apart from Yoto, Storkos, and Seedos. The lips of Seedos' enormous mask were pursed and he was looking at the soon to be "heroes" with uncertainty.

"What's with the face, Seedos?" Yoto asked as he swung his leg a bit.

"Bro…" Storkos sighed and rested a hand on her cheek. "I thought I told you to go home an hour ago. You need some sleep. Why are you still here?"

"Are you _sure_ you two can do this?" Seedos folded his arms and narrowed his enormous eyes at Yoto. "This is a _giant_ thing to take on, _especially_ without a plan! You _do_ have a plan, right?"

Storkos and Yoto looked at each other briefly and then shook their heads.

"I didn't have a plan when I saved you in the other universe, though!" Yoto burst into a grin. "That worked out just peachy!"

"Yes, but you had _help!"_ Seedos huffed. "You two can't just charge in there without a plan. Who knows what Pester will have prepared!"

"Like what?" Storkos asked, leaning up against the judging table close to Yoto. Yoto bit his lip and carefully crossed his legs.

"I dunno-villain stuff!" Seedos waved his arms around as if that would better help him think. "A Ruffian army! A Sour army! Traps! Torture devices! A _Sour Dragonache!"_

"Don't be silly, Seedos, there's no such thing!" Storkos chuckled and dismissed her brother with a flick of her hand. "Look, Yoto and I both have experience, we'll figure something out…and we'll do it _fast!"_

"Heck yeah we will!" Yoto lifted himself off the table. "I won't sleep _ever_ until Avalon is safe again!"

"You better get to planning, then," Seedos sniffed. "And Storkos…be careful. I don't want another member of our family getting…lost."

"Aw, Seedos, it won't be that serious…" Storkos flew over to her brother and wrapped him in a hug. "We'll all come back in one piece, I swear it!" She gave her brother a quick smooch on the nose before turning back to Yoto. "Hey, Yoto, we better get some strategizing done…" The corners of her full-lipped mouth turned up into a smile. "Let's go to my place. No use keeping Yen and Bart up all night with our planning!"

"B-b-but, I can't fly…and climbing the mountain would take too long…!" Yoto spluttered, his face turning bright red. Damn it, he had been totally smooth up until now!

"No worries, Yoto!" Storkos glided over to him and picked him up with zero effort. "I'll fly you up! Hope you aren't scared of heights!" She laughed with a wink.

"Heights…are…" Yoto wrapped his arms around Storkos' shoulders, shaking a bit in his sheer delight. "Heights are neato…"  
>"Glad you think so! Off we go, then!" After a quick goodbye to Seedos, Storkos flew out the door with an absolutely ecstatic Yoto in her arms.<p>

Seedos gawked after them, the enormous mouth of his mask wide open.

He hoped this chain of events wouldn't lead to him having an irritating brother-in-law…

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Dastardos finally arrived right where Pester had told him to be. They were in one of the side rooms of Pester's lair, completely dark and empty with the exception of a chair, a desk, a couple of green-flamed torches, and an enormous cage against the back wall.

Pester was waiting in the chair and sprung up as soon as Dastardos floated into the room, Avalon still draped in his arms.

"Give her to me!" Pester wrenched open the cage and stomped over to Dastardos with his arms outstretched.

"Geez, fine," Dastardos dumped Avalon into Pester's arms and he unceremoniously tossed her into the cage like she was an oversized rag doll. She hit the wall with a _thump_ and then lay limp on the cold stone floor.

"I _hate_ this bitch," Pester grumbled as he slammed the cage door shut and locked it. "They better hurry up with that ransom; I don't want to deal with her for too long!"

"Just ignore her?" Dastardos offered with a shrug. "She ain't getting out of that cage."

"You can never be too sure, Dastardos…" Professor Pester clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace about. "I've heard stories of many a villain who had left their hostages alone and came back to an empty cage and a note that said something rather rude!"

"Eh, good luck with her," Dastardos cracked his knuckles. "The dirty work is done, so here's hoping she won't be too much of a pain in the ass."

"Oh, Dastardos, you aren't going anywhere just yet…" Professor Pester smirked. "I just had quite the idea…"

Pester's thought process skidded to a halt when Avalon let out a loud: "UUUUUGH…"

"She waking up?" Dastardos floated to Pester's side and his boss nodded with a huge smirk.

Avalon's eyes flitted open. Urgh, she was so sore…her head was throbbing and this floor was _beyond_ cold…

She rolled over to see where she was and barely made out two pairs of glowing eyes. One pair was acid green and the other pair was lopsided.

_Oh, GREAT._

"Wot the 'ell?" Avalon staggered to a sitting position, one of her hands resting against her throbbing temple. "Wot am I doing 'ere and wot do _yew_ two want?"

"You, my _great glorified gardener_, are being held for ransom!" Pester mocked and he rubbed his palms together. "Piñata Central would _crumble_ without your piñata-rearing skills, so I'm keeping you here until Langston or that little girly boy or whoever has the money arrives with your ransom!"

"Yew," Avalon squinted at Dastardos. "Yew _kidnapped_ me at the P-Factor during my winning moment! Yew are one sneaky sod!"

"I do my best," Dastardos shrugged and smirked at her.

"This 'sneaky sod…'" Pester gave Dastardos an unexpected clap on the back and actually managed to shove him forward. "…will be guarding you until your ransom is paid. Frankly, I can't _stand_ the sight of you, Miss Pendragonache, plus I need to keep tabs on the town to see if people are gathering my payment together!" Professor Pester giggled with giddy glee.

"Tch," Avalon clicked her tongue. "I don't need a _babysitter."_

"I don't _want_ to babysit you," Dastardos glowered hard at their hostage. "I have better things to do, Professor! Come _onnnn!"_

"Heh," Avalon chuckled. "Yew really _are_ just a whiny teenager, aren't you?" Dastardos' face burned and he gave Avalon a glare so intense that it could crack an egg. Avalon didn't jump, but she pointedly looked away. Good, that meant Dastardos still managed to scare her.

"For once I agree with you, Pendragonache, he sure _acts_ like one!" Pester clapped Dastardos on the back again. "Whine whine whine, day in and day out, you'd never guess that this man was twenty-six!"

"PESTER," Dastardos gripped onto his boss' wrist far too hard. "I. Don't. Want. To. Do. This."

"Oh…?" Pester smirked and leaned in close to Dastardos' ear. "Consider this payback…" he sneered. "…for what you pulled over in the alternate universe. You made me miserable, so _I'll_ make you miserable."

"I hate you so much," Dastardos hissed right back.

"It's mutual," Pester ruffled Dastardos' hair before turning his attention back to Avalon. "He's a bit of a downer. Here's hoping he makes your stay positively _miserable!"_ Professor Pester threw his head back and cackled as he made his exit.

Dastardos floated over to the desk and plunked his butt on the chair and his chin on the desk, pouting like a fourth grader who was just told that he had to stay inside during recess.

Avalon buried her mask in her hands. Of _course_ this had to happen to her. Her luck had been amazing lately, _something_ had to come bring it down…

She stopped wallowing in her misery when she felt something vibrate in her pocket.

_ Pester hadn't taken her Alert System…!_

_I'm surprised that people are actually worried about me…_ Avalon almost chuckled to herself as she discreetly removed her Alert System from the hip pocket of her dress and flicked it on.

The message was from Yoto, no big surprise there. It said:

_Dont worry, Avvie! Me and Storkos are coming to save you! Thats right. Storkos. And me. Working TOGETHER. To save YOU! Im glad theres a bright side to you being kidnapped. Or ladynapped, or whatever its called. Either way, we are sooooooooo worried and we are gonna be there ASAP! Stay safe!_

Avalon sighed and hunched over like a broken puppet.

Yoto had better be thinking about how to save her and not spending his time trying to guess Storkos' bra size. Avalon wasn't sure how much time she could take in the same room as the biggest mope on the Island.


	3. Abysmal Accommodations

Yoto and Storkos finally arrived at Storkos' mountaintop home. The house was almost at the very tip of the mountain and the only sound in the air was the harsh mountain wind rushing past his ears. Yoto took in a sharp breath of cold air once he laid his eyes on the house. Storkos set him down and steadied him as he regained his footing.

"Wow, Storkos…this is…wow!" Yoto's jaw dropped right down to the ground as he took in the building before him.

It was an oddly large, modern abode. It was painted many shades of blue and had ENORMOUS windows, which Yoto figured must have the most amazing view of the Island. The house was sloped in many places and actually looked like it could fly away if it wanted to, much like its lovely inhabitant.

"You live here all by yourself?" Yoto whirled to face Storkos, the chill mountaintop wind blowing his red hair harshly. "How do you _afford _it?"

"With all the hours I work, I actually get quite the salary…" Storkos sighed and gazed wistfully at the Village in the distance. "I can't exactly go out and spend my money…I had Willy build me this great big house with two years of savings! It's awfully lonely sometimes, though…just me and my Cluckles…"

Yoto fought back the urge to get down on one knee, take Storkos' hand, and tell her that he loves her and she'd never be lonely again…but since this was the first time they were _really_ spending time together, she'd probably kick him right off of the mountain. Yoto didn't want to be thrown off the mountain by his beloved, so he promptly jumped to another topic.

"There are rumors flying around that you live in the _Egg Cave!"_ Yoto gestured hugely to the enormous gaping maw of a nearby cavern. "Haha, if only they knew!"

"I'd prefer to have people not know my financial status!" Storkos tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Can you _imagine_ what would happen?"  
>"Petula would probably try to marry you…" Yoto wrinkled his nose and Storkos threw her head back and laughed.<p>

"Yes, _exactly!"_ Storkos' laughter stopped as quickly as it had started when realization dawned on her face. "Ah, Yoto, we shouldn't be joking around! We need to come up with a plan to save Avalon!" Storkos took off towards her front door.

"Oh God, you're right!" Yoto ran after her. "Don't worry, I sent her an Alert. She knows we're coming!"

"I noticed," Storkos smirked a bit as she opened her front door. "Impressive, sending a text Alert from a ton of pinometers in the air! Very daring!"

Yoto turned bright red and spluttered a bit. Storkos swept her arm towards the inside of her house. "After you, Yoto! Let's get to work!"

"Y-yes, let's!" Yoto ran inside as fast as he could. Damn, he should have offered to hold the door open for Storkos! What kind of gentleman _was_ he?

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Dastardos was being awfully quiet.

Avalon had expected him to be all up in her face, complaining, griping, calling her rude names, threatening her, threatening to kill all her piñatas, calling her fat or some other petty insult…but no.

Dastardos stayed seated, his chin on the desk and a pout on his mask. He had actually _shut his eyes_. Was he…dozing off? Tch, how boring. If Avalon _had_ to be kidnapped by villains, she at least wanted it to be _slightly _interesting.

Her entire body was sore and her head was throbbing. That didn't count as interesting. She wasn't too big on pain…

She felt another vibration in her pocket. Another text alert? She didn't recognize this number…

_"Avalon, be safe_

_ I wish for your swift return_

_ Worrying is new."_

Was this a…haiku? Who the hell would decide to send a _haiku_ at a time like this? Avalon alerted them back: _"I'm sore, but in one piece. Who is this?"_

It was alarming how fast the response was. She got another in return mere moments after she sent the Alert.

_"It's better if you don't know. Good luck."_

Avalon sighed and shoved her Alert System back into her pocket in frustration. Ugh, she had more important things to worry about than some weirdo sending her poetry at a time like this. Namely, her dour guard.

"'Ey," Avalon narrowed her eyes over at the still pouting Dastardos. He didn't say a word, but he popped open his good eye and fixed it on her. "Wot's with the puss face? Figured yew would be all over this 'evil 'ostage 'olding' lark."

"I didn't sign up for this," Dastardos straightened up and yawned hugely, not even bothering to cover his mouth. "Why are you _complaining?_ All you have to do is sit there and wait for someone to come with the ransom."

The green brows of Avalon's mask arched. "Do yew _really_ think someone would be willing to pay a ton of money for my return?" Avalon massaged one of her sore biceps. "I might be rich, but I'm not popular. Most people seem to be afraid of me…"

"You kidding? I bet Langston is chewing up all of his office furniture in a nervous spazzing fit. You're, like, the center of the Island economy, aren't you? You have that huge-ass garden and that huge-ass shovel that you like to hit me with…" Dastardos gave Avalon the smirkiest of smirks. "I am _very_ pleased that you neglected to bring that shovel to that P-Factor round."

"I am _not!"_ Avalon jolted up and grabbed onto the bars of the cage, her rage towards Dastardos completely making her forget about her screaming muscles. "I can't _believe_ yew knocked me out _right _when I was in the bloody spotlight! Yew _ruined_ that whole round for _everyone!"_

"All in a day's work…" Dastardos put his feet on the desk and reclined in the chair, still wearing that smirky smirk. "Quite proud of that one. Not too shabby for my very first kidnapping! Looking forward to reading the articles in the news."

Ugh, he was _unbearable!_ Why did Avalon even _bother_ to try and get his attention? Would sitting here in boredom be better than having to deal with this insufferable prick?

…no. At least Avalon could get some fun out of giving him the jabs in the ribs he deserved. Too many people sat back and took his abuse, just let him bully them with his smart comments. Little did Dastardos know, he might have just met his match.

"Oh," Avalon smirked at Dastardos and shifted a bit on the stone floor, despite the fact that it was nigh-impossible to get comfortable. "Yew can _read?_ Now _there's_ a surprise!"

Dastardos yawned pointedly and leaned even further back into the chair. "Nice try there, _Ass_alon. I've heard better insults from Pester while he was drunk." Dastardos leered at her and Avalon felt her face heat up.

"_Wot_ did you just call me?" Avalon narrowed her eyes at Dastardos.

"Are you deaf? _Assalon,"_ Dastardos chuckled. "On account of you're a gigantic bitch and your ass is huge. Seriously, it's like you've got a sofa bed back there. Couldn't help noticing that when I was carrying you up here. You're _heavy."_

That was a _low blow._ Insulting a woman's weight…Dastardos must have been saving that one for _ages._ Avalon could tell by how confidently he was smirking. Did he have nothing better to do than sit around and think of "clever" insults and comebacks?

Avalon had a clever comeback up her sleeve, though, no rehearsal required.

"Well, then I'll call yew _Ass_tardos…" Avalon smirked right back at him. "…oh wait, my apologies; yew don't 'ave any ass to speak of!"

Avalon wished she had quick enough reflexes to pull out her Alert System and snap a photo of Dastardos' expression when she said that. It was very quick and barely lasted a second, but his eyes widened and he nearly fell off of the chair. He put the chair back to how it should be and actually _pouted_ at Avalon.

"I do _so_ have an ass! What the hell am I sitting on, then?" Dastardos whirled on his alleged butt to face Avalon, his arms crossed tightly.

"It's not a _proper_ one," Avalon mockingly imitated Dastardos' pouting expression. "Do you know how _real_ men look? Their bums are-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa!"_ Dastardos waved his hands around. "I did _not_ kidnap you to talk about men's asses. Actually, I didn't kidnap you to talk to you about _anything._ Can't you just…shut up and let me think?"

"That's _boring,"_ Avalon huffed and busied herself by squeezing her sore thigh muscles. What happened to her when she was knocked out? She must not have been put into the cage gently… "Wot the 'ell does someone like _yew_ think about?"

"Please," Dastardos rolled his good eye. "Don't try in get inside my head, _Avalon._ There's enough junk in there and there's _definitely_ no room in there for you to rummage around." With that, he pointedly turned away.

That just made Avalon's curiosity all the more piqued. She was probably getting more words out of Dastardos than anyone _ever_ did. All Dastardos seemed to do was hum, kill piñatas, and then hum some more. Occasionally, he'd taunt Doc Patch and make fun of other people in P-Factor rounds, but rarely did he carry on conversations with anyone. It was very clear that he wasn't big on conversation, though, considering how dismissive he was of Avalon.

What was going on in that crazy-haired head? Where the hell did this guy _come_ from? Avalon heard rumors that he was a test tube baby Pester brought up, but…_really?_ Another rumor said Dastardos was raised by sour Mallowolves and taught how to be "as civilized as a villain could be" by Professor Pester, who found him in the forest chewing on the leg of a dead Cinnamonkey. Avalon figured Dastardos would be _much_ more like Pester if that were the case…gladly, he didn't seem to be. He'd be gloating his mask off if he acted anything like his boss, monologueing theatrically and hurling extremely petty, allerative insults Avalon's way. Avalon shuddered, which didn't help the soreness of her muscles. The last thing this island needed was another Pester.

Dastardos didn't seem too fond of his boss…that was odd. Why did he listen to him, then?

Avalon snuck another peek at the reaper. He had gone back to his "fourth-grader-waiting-for-the-school-bell-to-ring" stance, his chin on the desk and an angry expression marring his already twisted mask. Whatever he was thinking about, he was thinking about it _hard._ He was probably just putting on a show to keep Avalon from prying further. What was _with_ this guy?

Avalon was about to open her mouth to say something else when the door to the room banged open. The loud noise made Avalon jump, which stung all of her already sore muscles. She bit her lip and hissed, hugging herself to rub her sore forearms. Damn it…

"AH, my most mopey minion!" Pester boomed at Dastardos, who had jumped right out of the seat and stood at attention as soon as the door had moved. "I come bearing good news and bad news!"

"What's the good news?" Dastardos blinked, clasping his hands firmly behind his back. He usually didn't give a shit if Pester knew he was nodding off or not, but the last thing he needed right now was an earful from his boss. He _really_ wasn't in the mood to be lectured by _two_ people who irritated him to no end.

"The good news is the word of my-sorry, _our-"_ Professor Pester ruffled Dastardos' hair patronizingly. Dastardos made a noise of contempt and swatted Pester's hands away.

Pester briefly narrowed his eyes at Dastardos before continuing. "Anyway, the news of _our _kidnapping has spread across the entire Village, along with quite a few other places on the Island! Avalon _is_ quite a famous figure, after all! _Everyone_ is abuzz!"

"I know she's famous, no one ever shuts up about it, especially not _her,"_ Dastardos shot Avalon a piercing look and she frowned at him.

"At least I accomplished more than _yew_ ever will," Avalon snapped.

_"Oooh,_ we got a live one here, huh?" Pester attempted to jab Dastardos in the ribs, but his thick elbow just went right through Dastardos' spectral body. "Make sure you cut her down to size if she gets too snippy. But don't you _dare_ knock her out; I want her to experience every last _moment _of her suffering!" Pester chortled and rubbed his hands together.

"Me too, Professor, me too," Dastardos made the best eye contact with his boss that someone with a lazy eye possibly could. "And the bad news?"  
>Professor Pester huffed. "Not a <em>single person<em> came forward with the money or the candy yet! I had my Ruffians bug all sorts of locations in the Village, and _no one_ is talking about who is going to pay the ransom! They better not try to storm my lair; I'll sic _you_ on them!" Pester cackled. "Avalon is one of the few people in town with a shovel that can hurt you, I think there's only _one_ other person and he's an absolute pansy who wouldn't risk his neck for _this _woman, so you'll be as safe as can be!" Pester bared all of his sharp teeth at Dastardos. "I'm sure you won't go easy on them. They should know better than to mess with us."

"I'm sure someone will come up with the money once all that chaos settles down," Dastardos smirked at Avalon. "Oh well; more time to torment our prisoner, right?"

"OHH, yesss!" Professor Pester threw back his head and laughed. He lumbered over to the cage and clenched his meaty fist around one of the bars. "And how has your gracious host been treating you, _Pendragonache?"_

"Oh, just _awful!"_ Avalon held her head and moaned. "'E's given me the most _appalling _threats, 'e won't let me out to use the loo, _and_ 'e never, _ever_ stops whinging!"

"HAHAHA! Little Miss Priss doesn't like her accommodations, huh? Must have spent too much time in posh hotels!" Professor Pester leaned in far, _far_ too close for Avalon's liking. "Well, _sweetie,_ you won't be getting any fancy services here!" He made eye contact with her and loudly snapped his fingers.

"Someone's sassy tonight…" Dastardos grumbled, a look of mild amusement on his face as Pester began to amble away from the cage.

"Keep up the good work, Dastardos!" Professor Pester walked towards the door, clapping his minion on the back as he walked by him. "I'm off to make some more threats! Maybe hack everyone's televisions and radios…oooh, this'll be FUN!" With a peevish giggle, Pester shut the door behind him.

As soon as Pester was gone, Dastardos turned to glower at Avalon.

"Piss in the corner. God knows I won't be looking. And what the hell does 'whinging' mean?"

"It's the _proper _way to say 'whining,'" Avalon folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at her captor. Dastardos rolled his good eye. Ugh, British people.

"Why did you even cover for me like that?" Dastardos folded his arms tightly and squinted at Avalon. "You don't fucking owe me anything."

"I didn't want to 'ear Pester go on and on about yew doing your job wrong," Avalon made a face at the very thought. Hearing one _syllable_ from Pester was more than enough for her. "And that language…yew are one _classy_ sod, yew know that?"

"I try," Dastardos returned to his seat at the desk, placed his bony elbows on it, and leaned forward to rest his chin on his hands. With that, he shut his unaligned eyes yet again.

Avalon let out a sigh. This was going to be even worse than she thought…at least he didn't _really_ try to threaten her.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Everyone always seemed to congregate at Arfur's Inn after big events. The whole place was crowded, abuzz with excited chattering and the sounds of clinking drinks. Not a single seat in the entire place was empty and the Inn looked like a colorful tsunami of all sorts of people had hit it. Even Leena and Seedos had braved the crowds.

Seedos had hoped in vain that him buying Leena some juice with money he had found on the ground a few days ago would cheer her up, but it was to no avail. She just stared at her distorted, purple reflection in the glass of grape juice. Tears still streamed down her face and stained her eyeband as she gazed at her untouched beverage in silence.

Seedos didn't have much experience in consoling anyone, let alone girls, so he kind of swung back and forth on his barstool, biting his lip, silently wishing over and over for Leena to stop crying.

"Seedos…" Leena squeaked his name, her voice strained from the tears. She sounded like she hadn't stopped crying since the incident at the P-Factor! Knowing Leena's overpowerful emotions, that was probably the case. "D-do you think Avalon is…okay?"

"I can't…promise anything, Leena…" Seedos looked down at his hands and absent-mindedly fumbled with the buttons on his suit jacket just to have something to focus on. Ugh, this wasn't helping at all!

Luckily, Arfur saw how badly Seedos was failing at being a bright ray of sunshiny hope, so he ambled over to the not-quite-couple and placed one of his large hands on Leena's shoulder. He felt Leena tense under his touch and she sprung up to full posture, her blue eyes wide and unblinking as she goggled at the bartender.

"_Everyone_ is worried, Leena. With this many people concerned about her, I'm sure Avalon will be safe and sound in no time," Arfur smiled at the fretting girl. He quickly withdrew his hand when he noticed that Leena kept darting her eyes toward it with a vague look of discomfort on her face. "Don't you trust Storkos? I've seen her wrangle Pester during P-Factor rounds like you can't believe! Not bad, beating up a man who's twice her size and probably three times her age!" He boomed a laugh and beat a fist into his palm.

"But…Dastardos, though…" Leena fixed her dewy eyes on the bartender. "She can't hurt him! _No one_ can!"

"They can if they have one of those special shovels!" Arfur grinned at Leena as much as his mask would allow. His smile only made Leena feel vaguely unsettled. She still wasn't quite used to the immense friendliness of the bartender that conflicted with his barely emotive mask.

"Those are super rare, though…" Seedos sighed and swung his barstool so he was facing Arfur. "Avalon has one…but she obviously didn't bring it with her. The only other person who I can think of who has one is Eddie…"

"Oh, _God…"_ Leena's hands flew to her face and she nearly knocked her drink over with her elbow. Arfur lunged forward and steadied the drink before it could spill a single drop. "Have you _seen_ Eddie lately, Seedos? He cracked…this whole thing made him _completely_ lose his mind!" Leena spun on her barstool and gestured to a table in the middle of the room, where Eddie was seated between Sahari and Sparcticus.

Eddie's hair was a complete mess and stuck out in several directions, his tie was askew, and one of his suspenders had come completely undone. Both of his friends were doing their best to try and cheer him up, but Eddie kept gesturing hugely, yelling barely intelligible retorts, and twitching like he was tweaked out on far too much sugar. Much like Leena, his eyeband was sopping wet with tears.

"He's really taking this hard…" Arfur rubbed the chin of his barrel mask, his voice colored with concern.

"He's in no condition to go storming an evil lair!" Leena brought her fist down upon the poor innocent counter and promptly slammed her head into it as well, almost knocking her drink over again. Arfur still managed to catch it, but a small purple splash made its way onto the formerly sparkling clean counter despite Arfur's efforts. Her shoulders shook as she began to cry again. "Not to mention _Yoto_ is going after her! _Yoto!"_ Leena wrapped her arms around her head and hiccupped between her sobs. "He probably just wants to look cool…he doesn't know how dangerous this is!"

"Leena…" Seedos' voice was soft, as if Leena were a particularly timid Shellybean who would flee if Seedos made any sudden movements. He gently placed a hand on her still shaky shoulder and he felt her relax under his touch.

Arfur's brows rose up. Leena had tensed up when he had touched her a few minutes ago…what was going on _here?_ Ugh, all of this bartending had made him an old gossip hound…at least it was fun. He tried to make himself look busy by grabbing a rag and cleaning up the spilled juice, but he was really eavesdropping on the two of them.

"Yoto might be the biggest idiot around, but he _really_ likes Avalon, and she likes him a lot too, for some reason…" Seedos shrugged. "I have a few doubts, myself, but he looked so determined when he said he wanted to save her…I could tell he was telling the truth. I think he's willing to put a lot on the line for her…" Seedos let out a small sigh. "Avalon's lucky to have a friend like that…"

Leena came up from her arm-cave of sadness and gave Seedos a tiny smile. She removed his hand from her shoulder, but not before giving it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "I…I guess you're right. Avalon _does_ speak awfully highly of Yoto…I really hope his drive will be enough to let him and Storkos save her."

"He's trying to impress Storkos, too," Seedos actually let a chuckle slip as he gently scratched the hand that Leena had squeezed. "That'll give him even _more_ determination. He's liked her for a long, _long_ time." Seedos sighed. "I don't exactly approve…but if it'll help you see your friend come home safely…I can let it slide." The enormous mouth of Seedos' mask curled into a gigantic smile.

Leena reached into her purse for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. That did little to get rid of the moisture all over her eyeband, though; she'd probably have to wring that thing out later.

"Thanks, Seedos…" Leena let out a drawn-out sigh and let a pale smile slip. "I feel better now. Just a bit, but…it's much better than being utterly miserable, right?"  
>Seedos chuckled dryly. "Yes, yes it is…"<p>

_Good going, Seedos,_ Arfur thought as he reached under the bar for a glass to clean. _There might be hope for you yet…_

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

_Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the Inn…_

"Do you know what I heard?" Petula giggled, her green eyes glinting with mischievousness as she stirred her drink with her straw.

"Oooh, what, what, what?" Fannie bounced in her chair like an excited Barkbark whose owner had just come home from a three-week vacation.

Fannie, Petula, Leafos, and Maxime were all seated at a corner table in the Inn, gossiping away about the events that unfolded at the P-Factor that day. Each had a drink in front of them, apart from Maxime, who had a full plate of cupcakes along with her enormous chocolate-vanilla swirl milkshake.

Leafos and Maxime both leaned forward with interest and eyed Petula. They usually weren't too fond of her, but they were _itching_ for dirt on what went down today, so they were more than willing to brave the company of the Island's alpha bitch for a while.

"I heard that Dastardos flew _right by_ Carrie Chewdini during his escape, and do you know what he told me he saw?" Petula's eyes got even wider and she began to drum her fingers on the table, squirming like there were Raisants in her panties. You could tell she was itching to get this gossip out.

"Wait, Carrie's still around?" Maxime screwed up her nose and Fannie elbowed her in the ribs and shushed her.

"Carrie wasn't at the P-Factor round, so he was outside when he, like, saw the crazy thing he saw! He said that Avalon's clothes were _covered_ in rips! _Both_ of her boobs were exposed, but that's all he managed to catch a glimpse of!" Petula's eyes got so wide that Maxime was convinced they would pop out and go flying. If they landed on her cupcake-plate, Maxime would make Petula eat her own eyes.

"Oh my God…do you think…?" Leafos bit down on her gloves and her eyes darted around. "Do you think Dastardos…_did something_ to her?"

"Oh, psh," Maxime rolled her eyes. "Carrie's INSANE. He probably hallucinated. I mean,think about it. Dastardos is soooo bony. I bet he couldn't even get it up, and even if he could, I bet he wouldn't even get any pleasure from that tiny cock of his." Maxime proceeded to shove an entire cupcake into her mouth.

"How do you know he has a tiny…?" Fannie started giggling before she could even get the word out.

"_Loofk at himph,"_ Maxime said around her mouthful of frosting and cake. She swallowed and added: "Even how he acts! I know his type!" Maxime began to talk through her nose in a mockery of Dastardos' voice. "'Hello, world, my name is Dastardos and I'm totally not insecure about my tiny, limp, shriveled dick! Pay attention to me! Look at me making fun of everyone! Look how _eeeeeeeevil_ I am!" My Vulchurro is HUGE and not compensating for anything at all!"

"Maxime, Avalon could have gotten _raped_ and you're making jokes?" Leafos buried her mask in her hands.

"You know me, Leafos," Maxime rolled her eyes. "Besides, you should know that 99.9% of anything that comes from Carrie's mouth is highly suspect…and same goes for _Petula."_ Maxime shot Petula a glare and she pouted.

"_Fine,_ then. But when she comes back pregnant with a demon spawn you're gonna eat those words!" Petula stabbed a finger at Maxime.

"He couldn't father any demon spawn with those shriveled balls," Maxime drawled before taking a gulp from her milkshake.

"Okay, that's…that's enough about Dastardos' fiddly bits!" The sides of Fannie's mask turned bright red and she waved her hands around.

"I fullheartedly agree," Leafos sighed.

"Hmmmph," Maxime smirked, her mouth full of yet another cupcake.

"Is…is anyone going to get the ransom?" Leafos wrung her hands, desperate to change the subject. "I'd rather not see my sister risk her neck to get Avalon back…but I don't want anything to happen to Avalon! She's a great inspiration to all of the young gardeners…poor Leena…she must be worried sick!"

"Eddie's crying like a baby and his father's out of town," Maxime snorted and nearly inhaled some frosting on her upper lip. "Plus I don't want us to give that fat bastard Pester what he wants. He's probably planning something with all of that money."

"Eew, what if he wants to, like, make something that'll turn us all into old people?" Petula wrinkled her nose.

"Or he'll hypnotize us and make us all his slaves for LIFE!" Fannie gasped theatrically.

"…good points…" Leafos sighed. "I guess all we can do is offer moral support."

"I have faith in Storkos," Maxime nodded with a grin. "Yoto…not so much. I think he just wants to get in her Egg Cave, if you know what I mean."

Petula burst into giggling, snorting laughter and Leafos lightly kicked Maxime under the table. Fannie blinked and cocked her head to the side like some sort of mailbox-bird. "I don't get it…"

"Well, still, two people are better than one…" Leafos rested a gloved hand on her cheek. "We should offer all the moral support we can!" She pulled out her Alert System. "I'm going to wish them both good luck!"

"Me too!" Fannie and Maxime chimed in unison as they fumbled around in search of their Alert Systems.

Petula just sat there, her lips pursed.

"Hey, Petula, you too," Leafos squinted at Petula and Petula huffed.

"FINE, but only Storkos," Petula reached into her pocket. "Yoto can get his head bitten off by Pester for all I care!"

"What the hell is _up_ with you two?" Maxime looked up from her texting for a moment and cocked a brow at Petula. "You hate each other _so _much!"

"Don't get her started! It's a REALLLLLLLY long story!" Fannie siiiiiiiighed. _"REALLY_ long."

"I'll, like, tell you someday, I guess," Petula grumbled as she finished up her texting. Once she was finished, she looked up again, that mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "Hey, anyone want to make bets? Five hundred CC says Yoto doesn't make it out of there alive!"

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Avalon hadn't been raped, mutilated, or hung upside down until she died from her brain drowning in blood.

Instead, she was being tortured.

Horrifically tortured.

Tortured by _boredom._

Dastardos had fallen asleep again, still with that brooding expression on his mask. How long had it been since they spoke? An hour? Two? Three? Forty years? UGH.

_At least I still have my Alert System…_ Avalon pulled it out of her pocket. _I'm really glad I charged it before the P-Factor round. This should last me __days__…hopefully._

A thought entered Avalon's head as the screen lit up. _Leena._

Leena was probably worried sick; crying her eyes out, maybe even vomiting onto anyone who asked how she felt about the whole Avalon kidnapping incident. Avalon decided to send Leena a message to make sure she knew she was okay.

_"Leena, they haven't hurt me. I'm actually quite bored. Just sitting in a cage with Dastardos guarding me. Pester put him up to the kidnapping. It wasn't his idea. Dastardos hasn't hit me since I got here, but I woke up covered in bruises and my head is throbbing. Don't worry, though. I have a feeling I'll be fine. I've gotten out of some tough scrapes in the past. You know how I am. =)"_

Avalon felt eyes on her back when she finished her frenzied texting. She turned to see Dastardos looking at her, his arms folded and a smirk on his face.

"Well, well, well, looks like you have yourself an Alert System…" Dastardos snickered.

"Yew are _not_ taking this from me, yew _bastard,"_ Avalon hugged the Alert System close to her protectively as if it were her first born child.

"I wasn't going to…" Dastardos fished into his own pocket and pulled out a slightly beat up red and black Alert System. "I was actually going to ask you something…"

"Wot?" Avalon said skeptically, still clutching her only means of entertainment.

"I think I know how we can cure our chronic boredom…" Dastardos flicked on his Alert System screen and smirked at Avalon again. "Now, we might not like each other, but we can turn that into _competition._ Got any multiplayer games on that thing, Pendragonache?"

Avalon couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even worse, she couldn't believe what she was about to say.

"Yew are _on,_ Mister Reaper." She returned Dastardos' smirk and his brows rose. She had no clue what that meant, but at least things were _finally_ starting to get a bit interesting!


	4. Absurdity

The interior of Storkos' house was even more amazing than the exterior. Yoto almost stumbled to the ground from the sheer shock of seeing Storkos' home. His head flipped around like crazy as he did his best to take in every little thing about where Storkos lived.

It looked even _bigger_ on the inside! Just like Yoto thought, the humongous windows had an _amazing_ view of the Island. Everything in the house was colored white or a soft shade of blue. There was a huge, sloping staircase that led up to a loft. Yoto stood on his toes and saw that the loft had an enormous couch and a television on it, along with several bookshelves that were _loaded_ with colorful books and a few cute little statues of bird piñatas sat on the top of each shelf.

_Poor Storkos,_ Yoto frowned to himself. _Does she even have time to read or watch TV?_

The ground floor consisted of another sitting room, a big, high-tech kitchen with an enormous fridge, and a dining table with six chairs. Yoto felt another pang in his heart.

_All those chairs…and she never has guests…_ Yoto snuck a peek at the superhero, who was humming to herself as she unbraided her hair. _She doesn't __seem__ too sad about it…I hope that means she's happy with my company!_

There was a hallway on the ground floor, too, with four rounded doors with shiny silver knobs along it. The largest door was at the very end of the hallway, and was covered of newspaper clippings of some sort. Probably about Storkos' many heroic exploits!

_Storkos' bedroom must be behind that door!_ Yoto swooned a bit and then shook his head around. _No, Yoto! Too fast! You won't be seeing that bedroom for __months__, and you don't even know if she likes you __that__ way!_

Despite his self-scoldings, his brain got overtaken by fantasies and his face flushed a deep, dark red that matched his mask perfectly.

_"Oh, Yoto, you were so __brave__ out there!" Storkos swooned, taking Yoto's hands and gazing deeply into his eyes. "Forgive me if this is too sudden, but I've fallen in love with you! Hard!"_

_ "Oh, Storkos…" Yoto caressed her cheek and smiled warmly. "I've loved you for a long, long time. I've been waiting to hear you say that. I-"_

_ Storkos placed a finger over his lips. "No more words, Yoto…come with me…" Storkos took his hand again and led him to the bedroom…_

"Yoto…? You okay?" Storkos' voice broke Yoto out of his daydream. _Gah, she was standing right in front of him!_ "You're all red…you better not be coming down with a fever! We have a gardener to save!" She planted her hands on her hips and gave Yoto a stern look.

"N-n-n-no, Storkos, I'm fine!" Yoto jumped a mile and shook his head rapidly. "Just…I have a lot on my mind. I'm worried about Avalon. REALLY worried!" His face turned even redder when he saw Storkos with her hair down. _Wow,_ that looked really nice…!

"We all are, Yoto, but turn that worry into _motivation!"_ Storkos grinned at Yoto and clapped him on the shoulder. "I know for a _fact_ we'll be able to get her back, no sweat!"

"We need a plan, though…" Yoto frowned and scratched his unruly hair.

"Hahaha, don't I know it!" Storkos laughed, but her brow furrowed with worry momentarily. "Well, no use thinking about it on empty stomachs. Want me to make you some food?"

Yoto's eyebrows almost flew off of his mask. "You can cook?"

"Yes, I learned a long time ago, but I _never_ get the chance to cook for anyone!" Storkos looked forlorn. "I made Seedos food quite a few times, and he enjoyed it, but it would be nice to cook for someone else for a change." She smiled warmly at Yoto and he blushed yet again. "What would you like?"

_Storkos. Cooking. For. Me. Ahhh, it's like we're married!_

Yoto smiled like a doof at Storkos and managed to sigh: "Whatever you want to make me…I'll eat _anything."_

"Haha, I think we'll get along just fine!" Storkos gave Yoto's shoulder an affectionate squeeze and opened up the giant fridge.

"D-do you want help?" Yoto offered, sidling up next to her.

"Don't be silly; you're my guest!" Storkos bent down to get something on a lower shelf. Yoto's eyes travelled right to her butt and a lovesick smile slowly spread across his lips. "Get some brainstorming done and we can discuss plans over food!" She straightened up and winked at Yoto, who hoped with all his heart that Storkos didn't catch him staring.

_Avalon,_ Yoto thought, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. _Thank you for getting kidnapped. I'm spending my evening with the perfect woman because of you! …don't worry, though. We'll be there as soon as we can!_

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Yen was feeling really freaking awful.

This was weird. He was usually barely swayed by _anything._ Something about Avalon's kidnapping made his stomach twist and his brain soar with horrible scenarios about what could possibly be happening to her. It bothered him that everyone _–including him oh God what kind of person was he–_ stood there like stupid Sarsgorillas when Avalon got knocked out and carried off…but then again, what _could_ they do? Dastardos was…a ghost or something…they couldn't hurt him even if they wanted to. It all happened so fast…Yen barely registered what was going on until Avalon and Dastardos were halfway out the door.

He was out on a walk to clear his mind. His walk was entirely aimless; he had barely a clue where he was and where he was going. He had passed Arfur's Inn on his trek through the Village and noticed that it was absolutely _packed_ with panicking people. Yen was glad that the problem wasn't being ignored, but he didn't dare to brave that crowd. Yen barely went into the Inn anyway; he found Arfur's immense friendliness…a tad unsettling. Not to mention Yen would do very well to never speak to a Weedling again in his life.

The brisk night wind was a little bit chilly and pretty darn strong. It blew Yen's long red hair so hard that it looked like it was having a panic attack. Yen was fine with it, though, anything that took his mind off what went on that evening was okay in his book.

The sounds of the night were calming. Night insects and the calls of Hootyfruities filled the air…

_BREEEEEEK! BREEEEEEK!_

_ …what the heck was that…?_

It sounded close by…Yen was walking right by the outskirts of a forest and he could hear the strangest noise he ever heard in his life coming from a bush. It sounded like a mix between a whimper and a bird's call…

Despite his initial reservations, Yen's curiosity got the best of him and he tentatively approached the bush. He knelt down, parted the branches, and actually sucked in a small gasp at what he saw.

He saw an enormous Crowla-_Avalon's!-_lying on its side and making that pathetic noise. His wing was lying on one side of him, completely detached from his body. On the other side was the remains of a Vulchurro-_Dastardos'…-_barely more than shredded confetti and a stray beak and eyeball.

"Wow…" Yen breathed as he looked at Avalon's Crowla. "You two got in a fight, didn't you…I'm glad you won…Cid, right? That bastard bird deserved that."

Cid just looked at Yen pathetically.

"…no time to chat, huh? You need help…" Yen scooped up Cid under one arm and grabbed his broken wing with his other hand. "I think that Vulchurro is a lost cause…not that I'd help the damn thing anyway…" Yen stared at the torn up body of the formerly enormous avian piñata for a good few moments before finally putting the branches of the bush back where they belonged.

He straightened up and shifted Cid around so they would both be more comfortable, carefully slipping Cid's amputated wing into one of his deep pants pockets. "I'll take you to the doctor…assuming he hasn't fainted from all of the…excitement this evening…" Yen sighed as he looked down at the broken bird. If Avalon came back, she should have a piñata that loves her to come home to.

Cid wasn't looking so good…Yen felt an odd mixture of concern and the slightest hint of happiness. Good thing he found Avalon's favorite piñata when he did. Who knows what could have happened if Cid was left all alone and flightless…

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"I can't believe the doctor fainted from all of the excitement this evening."

Yen huffed. He had made his way to the back rooms of the clinic only to find Patch lying on one of his own examination beds, his head lolling back, his eyes shut, and his face pale white. Gretchen fanned him with a folder of medical files, but it didn't seem to be doing any good.

"Sorry, kid, the doctor's not getting up any time soon," Gretchen said without turning around. "The last time I saw anyone so out of it was when I accidentally shot a knock-out dart into the back of Willy Builder's neck during my more…reckless youth."

"Avalon's piñata needs help," Yen protested at the intimidating woman, his usually calm voice firm. "Don't you have _something _I can use?"

Gretchen finally turned to Yen and narrowed her swirling eyes. "Don't know, kid, this isn't _my_ clinic. Just go fiddle through Patch's cabinets. I'm sure he won't miss anything."

"You want me to…steal medical supplies...from Patch…?" Yen cocked his head to the side a bit. "Are you…?"

"Consider it 'borrowing.' And yeah, I'm sure. Go on, I won't tell," With that, Gretchen let out a huff of annoyance, gave Yen a half-assed wave goodbye, and resumed fanning the poor doctor's pale face.

Yen shrugged and headed over to Patch's office, still holding the woozy Cid in his arms. Yen pushed the door open with a hip and squinted as he surveyed the many, many cabinets that lined the walls.

"Gonna need bandages and some glue…" Yen thought aloud as he gently placed Cid down on the desk. Cid let out a squawk and flopped over onto his side.

Yen bit his lip and glanced over his shoulder at the broken bird: "I'll get some medicine, too, to get you back to your normal self…it's weird seeing you act so…feeble." Yen heaved a sigh. "Just…hold on, okay? For Avalon…"

Cid gave an affirmative, tiny caw and managed a small nod. Yen gave the bird a half-smile and returned to what he was doing.

As Yen yanked opened a cabinet marked _Piñata Repair Supplies_ he heard Cid let out a weak, but distinctly inquisitive, call.

"…if you're wondering why I'm helping, it's because I couldn't just _leave_ you there," Yen explained as he found what he was looking for and shoved the bandages, bottle of medicine, and glue into his other pocket. "I know you mean a lot to Avalon, too." Yen shut the cabinet and began to walk towards Cid again. "She must be horribly worried about you."

Cid shut his eyes and nodded sagely.

"Don't worry, you're in good hands," One corner of Yen's mouth lifted into a smile as he lifted up the Crowla. "I'll take you back to my house and fix you up."

Cid let out a raspy squawk and blinked slowly at Yen.

"Don't worry, I've read books on piñata repair, I can reattach your wing, no problem…" Yen shook his head. He had never actually _tried _it, but fixing such an amazing piñata who belonged to an amazing gardener would be an honor. He figured that would be more than enough to motivate him.

Yen started to head for the door, but stopped in his tracks for a moment. He fished in one of his cavernous pockets and pulled out quite a few Chocolate Coins. He let out a small sigh and dropped them onto Doc Patch's desk.

"I have a feeling you need these more than I do, Doctor," Yen murmured despite the fact Patch wasn't even close enough nor conscious enough to hear him. "Thanks for the indirect help."

With that, Yen left the clinic, Cid clutched close to his chest. He couldn't help a tiny smile from crossing his mask. It felt…nice to help someone for once. He should try to do this more often.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Meanwhile, Avalon and Dastardos had begun to play a game together on their phones. They presented quite an absurd picture; Dastardos at the desk and Avalon still in her cage, yet they were tapping away on their Alert Systems with smirks on their faces. Both of them hoped in the back of their minds that Pester wouldn't walk in and see what was going on.

"I 'ave never seen _anyone_ so 'orrible at 'Anging with Friends," Avalon gaped at her Alert System screen. "You 'aven't gotten a _single one_ right!"

"Pardon me, Miss Priss, but you neglected to take my _handicap_ into consideration," Dastardos pointed to his droopy, distorted eye before returning his attention back to his Alert System.

"Oh," Avalon couldn't help being amused and a tiny smile broke over her face. "Is _that_ why you keep putting your Alert System up to your mug like yew are going to eat it? Yew can't _read?"_

"I _can_ read!" Dastardos' head snapped up and he glared daggers at Avalon. "…Not very well, though. Why the hell are we playing this game, anyway? It's called 'Hanging With Friends.' We are _not_ friends." Dastardos slammed his fist into the desk, his glare not letting up at all.

"No kidding," Avalon squinted at Dastardos. "Couldn't 'elp noticing that you had me guess the words 'giant' and 'bottom' two rounds in a row."

"Oh…you noticed, then?" Dastardos' hand flew over his mouth as he tried to stifle a snickering fit.

"I'm not even offended; you are such a _child,"_ Avalon huffed and glared daggers at Dastardos.

"Guess I'll have to try harder…" Dastardos grinned a twisted, toothy grin at Avalon. "Can we play something that I can actually _win_ at now?"

"…fine, anything to make the time go faster…" Avalon huffed as she fiddled with her Alert System. "Do yew 'ave Draw Something on there?"

"Yes I do, and I kick Pester's big fat ASS at it!" Dastardos cackled and began pressing buttons on his own Alert System. "I'm _bound_ to do the same to you!"

Avalon couldn't help shaking her head at the sheer absurdity of the situation as Dastardos got the game going. She was playing phone games with a feared piñata reaper who was known for his mystery and his heartless cruelty. Yet, when he was alone, he acted like a mere child, doing anything so he could get a cheap laugh.

_Guess yew need a sense of 'umor when yew have a job like 'is,_ Avalon snorted quietly as she examined the self-proclaimed Reaper further. He looked like he came crawling right out of a grave; every feature was freakish, his mask twisted and his grey hair an absolute mess. His fingers and toes were skeletal and alarmingly long and his clothes were tattered, as if he wore them for years. Judging by the musty smell he gave off, Avalon was sure that he _had_ been wearing those clothes for years.

"Hey, keep staring, maybe I'll do a trick," Dastardos broke Avalon out of her thoughts with his cold voice. "Got the game set up. Get in it and prepare to be _crushed."_

"One second…" Avalon typed up a quick text to Yoto.

_You will not believe what I'm doing right now, Yoto. I'll tell you later…but I'm still safe. I'm looking forward to leaving, but no rush on the rescue. Pester hasn't laid a finger on me and all Dastardos is doing is hurling petty insults. If you're going to save me, __think it through__ and don't risk your bloody neck. These two might be fools, but they're dangerous fools._

She sent it and looked up at the impatient Dastardos, who was tapping the desk with his nails in a distorted rhythm with a look of annoyance on his face. "Okay, ready, yew sod. Your move."

"Psh, girls and their texting," Dastardos rolled his good eye as he lifted his Alert System to his face. He smirked at one of his options, poked it, and began drawing on the screen with the tip of a skeletal finger. "You know what? I could care less if you're sending out messages asking for help. The sooner you're out of my hair, the better. Pester's an idiot; can't believe he expects people to just give him what he wants." He finished his drawing and gave the screen one more quick tap.

"Yew aren't much of a villain, then," Avalon snorted as Dastardos' drawing loaded up on her screen. "…wot the '_ell_ is this?"

"You're supposed to _guess,"_ Dastardos was smirking like the crazy person he was.

The drawing looked like Pester, with his butt drawn to a gargantuan size and his head mockingly huge. He had the dumbest expression on his face and Dastardos had drawn crude squiggles were Pester's sour markings would be. There was a scribbly arrow pointing to the drawing's head.

'Mask' was too short of a word…and she didn't have letters that spelled 'skull…'

_Think like this bastard…_ Avalon bit her lip as she began pressing letters on the screen.

_ M…O…R…O…N…_

_DING!_

"Huh, you got it!" Dastardos exclaimed with mild surprise when he heard the sound of victory from Avalon's Alert System.

Avalon smirked. "Yew practically _gave it away,_ calling Pester an 'idiot' a minute ago," Avalon began to do her own drawing. "It really was an _uncanny_ likeness. Glad we seem to see Pester the same way."

"You'd have to be _insane_ not to see him that way," Dastardos rolled his good eye.

Avalon looked up from her game and cocked a brow at Dastardos. "And you're _not_ insane?"  
>"I have my moments…" Dastardos reclined in his chair and placed his feet on the desk again. He pressed his lips into a thin line in thought for a few moments and then added: "…but I'm not <em>that<em> insane."

Avalon wasn't so sure about that…but hey, most people expected Dastardos to be the type to get his jollies from slicing people open, frying up their intestines for dinner, and hanging up their hollowed-out bodies up like wall decorations. Personally, Avalon thought that was stupid. As far as she knew, he was no murderer. He was well-known for killing piñatas, but he had _never_ murdered a person. The fact that he could get away with killing someone if he chose and yet never tried to exterminate any of his enemies was…strangely admirable.

That was _barely_ reassuring, but it was reassuring nonetheless. As long as Pester stayed far, far away, things would be just fine.

"That is the _worst_ Chocstrich I've ever seen," Dastardos criticized, squinting at the screen. "Looks like you were trying to draw the lovechild of Fannie Franker and a Cluckles."

Avalon _almost_ laughed until she realized the absurdity of it. She hadn't expected her captor to be so…snide.

"At least it doesn't have a giant fat arse like your drawing did," Avalon planted her free fist on her hip. "My eyes are still burning."

_"You thought it was funny a minute ago~"_ Dastardos sing-songed, jiggling his Alert System at Avalon. She shook her head and let out a small huff of a sigh.

_This could be worse…_ Avalon massaged her sore thigh absent-mindedly. _'e could be Pester…or the crazy person that everyone thinks 'e is…_

Dastardos cackled like a five year old who just got away with stealing his big brother's juice box as he worked on his new drawing.

_…at least this will be an interesting opportunity to learn a thing or two about this guy…_ Avalon smirked inwardly. _I always did wonder…_

"'Ey, Dastardos…" Avalon tilted her head a bit at the reaper. "Can I ask you something?"

"If it's about where I came from, how I got my powers, my bad eye, or who does my hair, no," Dastardos didn't look up from his drawing.

Well, that crossed off a lot of options. Avalon slowly folded her bruised arms and racked her brain for a question. "Okay, then…wot do yew do alone in that dead tree all day?"

"Sleep, mostly," Dastardos finally looked up, or at least his good eye did. His bad eye rolled slightly to the left and refused to follow its mate upwards. Avalon almost snickered. "Try to keep the Sours that come up from under the house from chewing up my furniture."

"Yew 'ave _furniture?"_ Avalon's mind swam with the possibilities. She always thought Dastardos just moped around in an empty tree.

"A couch and a bed," Dastardos put his Alert System down. "It's not much, but hopefully that will satisfy your irritating curiosity and you won't have to go poking around in my house."

Avalon snorted. "Dastardos, I am _not_ stupid. I know going into your house is a death wish. _ Everyone_ does."

"Good for everyone," Dastardos made a move to reach for his Alert System, but he paused with his hand hovering over it and gave Avalon a narrow-eyed look. "Hey, what's with the questions all of a sudden? You trying to be friendly?"

"One can't 'elp but be curious about a living phantom," Avalon shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. "Might as well make conversation. We may be 'ere a while."

Dastardos gave her a lingering look. Avalon couldn't read his expression, but there was definitely a bit of disbelief in there.

"…hope not," Dastardos finally said before turning his attention back to his Alert System.

Avalon shook her head. Was it even _possible_ to break this guy's cold front...?

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

It was getting _very_ late into the night, and Storkos and Yoto hadn't slept at all.

Storkos was draped over her couch and Yoto was lying on his stomach on the floor, both of their brains working overtime.

They felt awful; they had gotten more than a little sidetracked talking over dinner. Yoto had allowed Storkos to tell him his entire life story, and he listened eagerly. He ate eagerly; too, he ate about three plates of the baked pasta Storkos made for him. He might have been just a bit biased, but it was one of the best things he ever tasted.

With that delicious dinner and the beautiful lady who made it muddying his mind, Yoto was completely idealess.

Storkos, her mind swimming with guilt over letting herself get sidetracked, had a blank mind as well.

"I'm sorry…" Yoto spoke up. "I…I should have known I'd be a distraction." Yoto rose up and hugged his knees, looking away from Storkos and out the window at the dazzlingly starry sky.

"It's not your fault, Yoto!" Yoto heard Storkos rise from her place on the couch, her voice full of honestly. "This is one heck of a jam; I never had to deal with a _human_ kidnapping before!"

"I hope she's okay…" Yoto let out a morose sigh and buried his masked face in his drawn-up knees. He nearly leapt to his feet when he felt Storkos' warm, reassuring touch on his shoulder.

"Hey," Storkos' usually brash voice was actually soft for once. "Didn't you send Avalon a message earlier?"

"…yeah?" Yoto poked one eye out from behind his knees to look at Storkos.

"Did she ever get back to you? It's a long shot, but I don't remember you ever looking at your Alert System while you were here…" Storkos knelt down next to Yoto and stroked her chin in thought.

"Well, duh I didn't, that would be rude!" Yoto came out from behind his knees and dug into one of the pockets of his suit. "You aren't supposed to text when you're with someone else!"

Storkos couldn't help chuckling. "Yoto, this is a…special situation."

Yoto felt his face catch fire. "I…I know! I just…forgot!"

Storkos shook her head with an amused smile as Yoto flipped open his Alert System. He lit up as soon as he saw the message.

"Avalon! It's her! It's her! I _knew_ they'd be too dumb to take her Alert System away!" Yoto jumped to his feet with joy.

"What are you waiting for?" Storkos' usual loud volume returned as she also leapt up. "Read it!"

Yoto cleared his throat and launched into a near-perfect impression of Avalon's voice:

"Yew will not believe what I'm doing right now, Yoto. I'll tell yew later…but I'm still safe. I'm looking forward to leaving, but no rush on the rescue. Pester hasn't laid a finger on me and all Dastardos is doing is 'urling petty insults. If you're going to save me, _think it through _and don't risk your bloody neck. These two might be fools, but they're dangerous fools..."

"Glad she's okay!" Yoto grinned, but his grin fell when he saw Storkos' expression. Her eyes were bulging and her jaw had practically unhinged itself. "…what's wrong, you all right?"

Storkos rapidly shook her head around and punched herself twice in the temple to regain her senses. "Sorry, that impression was just…incredible! I know now's not the time, but…wow! You sounded _exactly_ like Avalon!"

"Comes with growing up with a Parrybo," Yoto's chest puffed out with pride. "I picked up a thing or two from him!"

"I'd ask you to do more, but we have work to do…I'm glad Avalon's fine…" Storkos exhaled, feeling her tense muscles finally relaxing. "That's a load off my mind!"

"Oh man, mine too…and good news!" Yoto grinned at Storkos. "I just thought of something!"

"You mean…?" Storkos grinned right back, folding her hands hopefully under her chin.

"Yep, I have an _idea!"_ Yoto had to resist the urge to jump up on Storkos' coffee table to give her his idea in a more showy way, but he really didn't want to scuff up his favorite lady's furniture. "Avalon left her shovel in her garden! I know where she keeps it! If we borrow that, we won't have to worry about Dastardos at _all!"_ Yoto pumped his fist into the air. "I'll handle the shovel, of course. I'm not afraid to bonk Pester over that ugly head of his with it, either!" Yoto mimed smashing the most villainous skull on the Island with an invisible shovel.

"I can take Pester, I've kicked his ass before!" Storkos smashed a fist into her palm. "…but I wouldn't complain about help with him once you take Dastardos down, that's for sure!" She gave Yoto a grateful smile that almost melted his brain.

"I-it's a simple plan, but I think it's all we need…" Yoto rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks blazing red again. "We can bring some candy or something to distract the Ruffians, too!"

"Wow, you're thinking of _everything!"_ Storkos' voice was full of admiration. "See, I knew you wouldn't hinder me. I don't know why everyone else thought you would!" She took a few steps closer to Yoto. With each step, Yoto felt his knees grow weaker and weaker. He felt like he was going to melt into a gelatinous puddle onto Storkos' floor.

"Wuh-well, I have good motivation!" Yoto blushed even deeper and he cracked his knuckles. "I-I wanna save my friend, plus it's awesome to work with someone as great as you!"

"It's great to work with you, too, Yoto," Storkos stood on her toes and gave Yoto a quick little kiss on one of his bright red cheeks. "We'll get ready as soon as it's light out…which shouldn't be too long! Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta change out of this gown. It's not really suited for fighting, plus I'd _hate_ for it to get ripped!" With that, she flew right down the stairs.

Yoto gazed after her, his green eyes wide and his fingers resting right where she had kissed him.

Once he was sure Storkos was safely out of earshot, Yoto burst into a victory dance and shouted a rousing "WOO HOO!"

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"Gooooood morning, Piñata Island!" Gigi Gabbins gave her most gleaming grin right into the camera. "Gigi Gabbins here with the news! Today, I'm walking around this tiny little Village that was recently host to a great BIG crime! Let's see what some of the locals have to say about it!"

The camera cut to Sparcticus, who was looking into the lens with a look of fright and confusion as Gigi stood on her toes in an attempt to get her microphone somewhere remotely near his mouth.

"Sir, do you feel safe in your home now that the formerly mostly silent Piñata Reaper has staged a kidnapping right in the local show hall?" Gigi asked, giving Sparcticus what she thought was a comforting smile. Sparcticus just thought she looked like she was going to rip her cheeks open if she kept grinning that hard.

"I don't even live in this…Village…" Sparcticus responded, side-eyeing the camera again. His voice was soft; he didn't feel too comfortable talking on television…especially since he was barely sure of what he was even doing.

"Hahahaha, you must be happy you don't, big fella!" Gigi giggled and gently touched Sparcticus' arm. He gave her a suspicious squint right before the camera cut to Gigi with Leena in the middle of her garden, holding the microphone low so the shorter girl could speak into it. Seedos was in the background of the shot, examining a slightly wilty buttercup and doing his best to pretend the news crew didn't even exist.

"You said Avalon was your 'best friend…'how does it feel knowing that your best friend could be going through a whole manner of atrocities right now?" Gigi gave Leena a look of sympathy and Leena gave her a shy little smile.

"Well, uh…actually, she sent me a text Alert…she said she's okay, so…I'm not so worried anymore…" Leena held up her Alert System to make a point.

"Oh, wow, do you still have it? Can you read it out loud?" Gigi looked about five times as thrilled as Leena did. "This could answer a lot of unanswered questions!"

"Of course I do…um…" Leena scrolled through her Alert System for a few seconds before she found the Alert and read it out loud.

"Hmmmm-mmm…" Gigi pursed her purple-painted lips.

"Whuh-what?" Leena spluttered. She didn't like the expression on Gigi's mask.

"Are you _entirely_ sure that Alert wasn't a fake?" Gigi knit her brow. "One of Miss Pendragonache's captors could have sent it just to quiet you down!"

_"WHAT?"_ Leena exclaimed with a squeak, her eyes widening to a gargantuan size that would make a Galagoogoo envious.

"Oh yes, it's what I would do if I were them!" Gigi nodded and Leena began to cry. Leena did her best to hide her tears at first, but they just got worse and worse as Gigi went on.

"It seems like the sensible thing to do! Quiet the masses so they don't riot and all that!" Gigi stuck out her lower lip and nodded sagaciously, completely oblivious to Leena's crying.

Seedos couldn't ignore what was going on anymore. He brushed his hands off and walked with a purpose towards Gigi and Leena. "Okay, that's _enou-"_

The camera then cut to Gigi in Doc Patchingo's clinic. The doctor was looking quite worse for wear; his monkey helmet was crooked and his blonde bangs were utterly disheveled. His face was pale white and his gloved hands were shaking.

"Th…this isn't luh-live, is it?" he murmured to Gigi, giving the camera a nervous glance.

"Nope!" Gigi shook her curly head and Patch let out an enormous sigh of relief. "Doctor Patchingo, how do you feel about the actions of Dastardos? Your relationship is quite…infamous around the Island, you know!"

"I-I'm aware…" Patch tried his hardest not to look into the cold, black eye of the camera and instead glared right at the microphone he was speaking into. "Duh-Dastardos, I think what you d-d-d-did was _horrifying!_ I can't b-b-believe you would stoop so low!"

"Dastardos isn't in the microphone, Doctor," Gigi giggled obnoxiously.

Patch ignored her and kept speaking. "I-is this going to be a d-downward spiral into more and more horrible p-plans?" Patch blew his bangs out of his eyes and made his angry glare visible to the world. "I d-d-doubt you're watching this report, Dastardos, but I _really_ d-don't approve of what you did."

"I'm _sure_ that would really make him rethink his actions, Doctor," Gigi cooed a bit too patronizingly and a flicker of annoyance crossed Patch's face. "You're not the only one who disapproves! What do you think he and Pester will do next?"  
>"I-if they're smart, <em>nothing,"<em> Patch folded his arms tightly. "Nuh-neither of them seem too smart, though. I c-can't guess."

"Time will tell, and I'll be there to cover all future villainous schemes!" Gigi gushed and bounced in place.

"Yay…" Patch mumbled and half-assedly twirled an index finger.

The camera then cut to Gigi in the Village Square with Petula and Fannie, who looked positively ready to burst with delight at the prospect of being on television.

"What do you two think about the two local heroes who are going to attempt to rescue Miss Pendragonache?" Gigi gestured to the air next to her, where two portraits quickly appeared on the broadcast. They were both shots of Storkos and Yoto from the P-Factor website. Storkos was smiling elegantly into the camera and Yoto had his eyes crossed, his fingers in his mouth, and his tongue lolling out.

"Oh, I think it's _soooo_ cute that they're working together!" Fannie burst into a giggling fit, her shoulders shaking and her hands on her stomach. "Yoto seemed like he really wanted to help! He really likes Avalon and I think he really _really_ likes Storkos! I believe in them!"

"What about you, Miss Petula Clarke?" Gigi offered the microphone to Petula and she smirked a bit before saying:

"I believe in Storkos. Not so much in Yoto Yoa. He's, like, a total screw-up!" Petula huffed and folded her thin arms. "He's probably only doing this so he looks good! He's not much of a hero if you ask me! You know what he did during a P-Factor round once? He grabbed that sweetie Eddie Lizard's pants and then he-"

Petula continued to chatter her story away in the news report as Arfur shook his head at the television over his bar.

"Why are they making such a big deal out of this?" He turned to his two early morning patrons. "I haven't seen this much media coverage since you were in your prime, Jardiniero!"

The old man himself huffed. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly chagrined that they neglected to ask my opinion on this whole matter," Jardiniero took a deep drink from his mug of milk before he continued speaking. "That's my _daughter_ that's going after those villainous fools!"

"With my _nephew…"_ Bart rubbed his temples and slumped over the bar. "I called him an hour ago. He and Storkos haven't left yet. Lord knows what they were doing all night!"

"Wait, where are they?" Jardiniero tilted his head a bit at Bart.

"You didn't know?" Bart looked mildly amused. "Why, my nephew's been at your daughter's house all night long!"

"WHAT?" Jardiniero almost knocked over his milk as he clutched his chest.

"Don't even _think_ about going into cardiac arrest!" Bart straightened up and shook a finger at Jardiniero. "If my nephew had managed to so much as lay a _finger_ on your daughter, he would not have been able to keep it from me in the morrow!" Bart chuckled. "Unless he's being extra crafty…don't you fret, though, Jardiniero, I've been slipping condoms into the boy's pants pockets every morning ever since the day he turned sixteen!"

"What sort of _vile_ household do you run?" Jardiniero was aghast and his face went as white as his beard.

"There is _nothing_ 'vile' about the reproductive act!" Bart slammed his fist on the bar counter. "You should be positively bursting at the seams that your virginal daughter has someone who covets more than her ample tracts of land!" Bart gesticulated in front of his chest, his hands cupped.

Jardiniero ignored Bart's little gesture and scoffed: "Someone as empty headed as your _nephew? _For Heaven's sake, if I learn he went within three inches of my daughter's personal space, I would have a thing or two to say to him!"

Bart made a noise of exasperation, clenched his fists, and rose to his feet.

"Now, now, this isn't the time for that!" Arfur laughed nervously as he shot out an arm to stop Bart making Jardiniero crippled in his upper body as well. "We should worry about the _issue at hand_,not about what your family members may or may not have done!"

"Urgh…" Bart grunted in affirmation and sat back down.

"I think you both should try and track them down and see them off," Arfur smiled at the two aged men. "I'm sure they'd appreciate it, and it would give you some peace of mind as well."

"…and I can give my daughter a proper warning…" Jardiniero grumbled. Bart narrowed his eyes at Jardiniero and Jardiniero quickly looked away as if he said nothing at all.

"Smashing idea, Arfur," Bart stood up and reached into a patched pocket for his Alert System. "I'll call my nephew…"

Jardiniero had no such ability to stand up, but he began to search his person for his Alert System as well.

"Tell Yoto and Storkos ol' Arfur wishes them the best of luck!" Arfur grinned a tiny little grin.

"Lord knows they need it…" Bart and Jardiniero grumbled in unison.


	5. Stockholm Syndrome

Yen was up all night putting Cid back together. He toiled until the sun rose, his hair a mess and his unmasked forehead sweaty.

The fact that Yoto's stupid Parrybo wouldn't shut up helped keep Yen awake, too.

"YEN IS STUPID!" Potato gleefully announced from his perch on Yen's coat rack.

"Urrrgh…" Yen buried his face in his hands. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Yen had managed to reattach Cid's wing surprisingly well, although Cid was still weak. The medicine at least gave Cid power behind his call and he could finally sit up, but Yen had a feeling that Cid wouldn't be flying properly for quite a while. Yen had gotten so absorbed in his work that he had barely heard Potato's screechings. Now that he was done, he had a massive, throbbing headache that didn't want to quit.

Potato cocked his head to the side and repeated: "Yen. Is. Stupid." A smug smile spread across the Parrybo's beak and Yen felt a quick (but _very_ powerful) urge to throw a pillow at the damn thing.

Cid cawed in protest and Potato's eyes suddenly got very, _very_ big.

"Oh, cripes, what did you say to him?" Yen fixed his unfocused, black-smeared eyes on the Crowla on his bed as accusingly as he could.

"Avalon's bird?" Potato asked with a little hop and flutter of his wings. "Yen got Avalon's bird?"

"I found him in the bushes, all right?" Yen folded his arms and bit his lip for a moment before continuing. "He was hurt. I couldn't just _leave_ him there! I wanted to help him…he means a lot to Avalon, you know…" Yen sat back down on his bed and buried his face in his hands. Cid promptly hopped over to him and gave him a quick nudge on the shoulder in gratitude. Cid wasn't usually one to show affection, but he usually wasn't one to get injured. If Yen hadn't happened along, who knows where he would be…

Potato's beaky smile grew to a width that would be physically impossible for most other Parrybos. "Yen is stupid _and_ loves Avalon!"

"WHAT!" Yen came up from his hands, exclaiming louder than he ever did in his life. His cheeks were burning and all of his exhaustion seemed to drain away with the rush of adrenaline the shock caused him. "I-I just wanted to help Cid!"

"Nope," Potato pecked the top of Yen's coat rack twice before shutting his eyes and putting his beak in the air smugly. "Stupid loves Avalon!"

"I-I don't…" Yen grabbed onto his bed sheets and clenched them in his fists. He wasn't sure if he meant that. How _did_ he feel?

Cid began to size Yen up. Would Avalon even _like_ a guy this young and poor? Cid was used to Avalon's enormous mansion; Bart's modest little cottage seemed utterly cramped in comparison. Yen wasn't exactly a classy looking fellow with that monochromatic hoodie and disheveled, long red hair …but then again, he did save Cid's life. At least Yen was smart enough to fix his wing. Cid turned his attention to his recently re-attached wing and gave it a few test flaps. _Wow, the kid did a good job…_

Yen wasn't paying any attention to Cid. He had his hands gripping on either side of his still-throbbing head, his mind rushing with thoughts. Yen had a tendency to get absorbed in his own little world, and this was certainly one of those times. His lips were parted, his eyes were wide and glazed over, and he was barely blinking.

_Avalon Pendragonache, huh…?_

Yen thought of her. She somehow managed to tolerate and even be close friends with his twin brother, so he saw her a lot. He always felt a little pang of…something when she and Yoto would laugh together. Yen normally wasn't too interested in anyone he met, but…_her…_

Avalon was intelligent. She was strong. She wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. She appreciated the finer things in life and she always looked absolutely beautiful. Yen had felt his heart drop into his stomach when she had gotten kidnapped right under everyone's noses at the P-Factor. He was _afraid._ Yen was so used to his usual feeling of calmness that fear felt…well, it didn't feel very nice at _all._

He was worried after the P-Factor. He had even sent Avalon a text Alert with shaky fingers; a haiku. Yen had always loved poetry. As far as he knew, Avalon didn't have his number, so she wouldn't know who sent it. He figured she should have known that at least someone out there wanted to see her come home…and he figured a simple haiku would stick in her mind and reassure her that her safe return was wanted. At least…Yen hoped it would.

Avalon had said she was fine, but Pester could have typed that message…or Dastardos…_ugh!_ Yen felt even _worse_ now. Sitting there like a brain damaged Hoghurt while Avalon was knocked out and whisked away by that goddamned reaper…

Yen wished that he could try and save her himself, but what _could_ he do? He couldn't Tinker, he wasn't strong, he had no weapons, he knew _very_ well that waltzing into Pester's lair uninvited would be a death wish. Besides, Yoto and Storkos had already staked claim on the rescue.

"At least I found you, Cid…" Yen didn't look at the bird, but a pale smile crossed his face. His eyes still looked quite glazed. "Avalon will be grateful…losing your beloved piñata must be just…awful…"

"STUPID YEN'S IN LOOO-OOOOVE~! STUPID'S IN LOOOOOO-OOOOVE~!" Potato began to loudly squawk-sing, dancing around his perch and nearly sending Yen's coat rack tumbling to the floor.

That snapped Yen out of his trance and he sighed and blew a lock of hair out of his eyes. "…Potato, sometimes I wish I could kill _you,_ but I know very well what Yoto would do to me…" Yen stretched his arms behind his head and said: "Most likely dismemberment. Taking my guts and tinkering them into fine jewelry to sell to rich people."

"JEWELRY FOR AVALON~!" Potato sang as the coat rack wobbled dangerously beneath him. "STUPID JEWELRY!"

Getting chopped up to make tinkered jewelry that Avalon would proudly wear made Yen strangely okay with the idea. He shook that thought off and hung his head.

"She…needs a better man than me…" Yen lifted his head up to shoot Potato an icy glare. "So I am _not_ 'in love' with her. If you tell anyone, I _will_ smash you." Yen punctuated that statement by punching his bedspread.

Potato hopped once more, cocked his head to the side, and suddenly shrieked in a voice that was identical to Yoto's: "POTATO! GET OUT OF HERE! I'M MASTURBATING!"

Cid made a face of disgust and Yen heaved a heavy sigh. At least he didn't explicitly say "I love Avalon." Word would get back to Yoto fast, and if Yoto knew, Avalon would know soon afterwards…

Yen turned on his bed and rested his arms on the windowsill, gazing up at the cloud-dotted blue sky. Him and Avalon…

She was a whole head taller than him…she'd have to bend down to kiss him. With her long hair, strong frame, and unique beauty, Avalon really was lovely, like a walking poem. Yen was sure her face would be as striking as the rest of her. If she had been born back in the day Yen was sure that quite a few bards would try to court her with songs and poetry.

Yen would be lying to himself if he thought he wouldn't be among those bards. He felt his cheeks heat up. That was a new one…

Yen rested his hand on his burning cheek and scooted so he was facing Yoto's Parrybo again.

"I need to…take a nap…" Yen announced to no one in particular. "Potato…" Yen's upper eyelids lowered and he jerked his thumb towards the door. "Can you bother someone else for a while?"

"MASTURBAAAAATING~!" Potato gleefully announced before taking off out the door. The door was slightly ajar, so Potato full on smacked into it on his way out. Yen got up to close the door and noticed that Potato was flying rather perpendicularly down the hallway.

"Hope that head trauma makes him have a stroke and he loses the ability to speak…" Yen shut his door and locked it with a _click!_ "Can piñatas have strokes?" Yen asked Cid as he headed back towards his bed.

Cid shrugged his uninjured wing and Yen shrugged right back.

"Guess we'll find out…" Yen flopped back down onto the bed. "Let's get some rest…we've had a looooong night, Cid."

Cid let out a caw of agreement and hopped his way to the foot of Yen's bed.

Yen didn't even bother to change into pajamas and wriggled under the covers as quickly as he could. He shut the curtain over his window, laid down, and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep almost instantly, his brain filled with horrid visions of what atrocities Pester and Dastardos could be doing to Avalon at the moment…

…and then bursting in like a hero to save her.

_"Oh, Yen…" Avalon sighed as he carried her out of that wretched place. "Thank yew so much for saving me…I owe yew one…no, I owe yew __**several!**__"_

_ "Seeing you safe is its own reward…" Yen's eyes softened as he smiled at her. They were suddenly in a beautiful, open field. Avalon leaned forward, lifted up Yen's mask, and kissed him sweetly._

Needless to say, Yen would need to change his bedsheets when he woke up.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Avalon and Dastardos had fallen asleep right in the midst of their Draw Something game. The horribly exhausted Avalon nodded off while waiting for Dastardos to take his turn. Dastardos didn't really _need_ sleep, but once he saw that Avalon was out, he figured it would be a hell of a good way to pass the time.

Avalon's eyes opened and her aching muscles, which hurt even more today, reminded her that this whole crazy ordeal wasn't just a dream.

She forced herself to a sitting position and glanced over at Dastardos. He was leaning on the desk, his arms wrapped around his head, dead asleep.

"Sleeping on the job, 'uh? Yew're lucky Pester didn't come in 'ere," An ever so tiny smirk crossed Avalon's lipstick-smudged mouth.

At the sound of her voice, Dastardos shot right out of his deep slumber and fixed her with a cold glare. Geez, even right after he woke up he could still look absolutely horrifying.

"We _both _are, if he came in he'd probably want to cut off a finger or something and have a Ruffian deliver it to your boyfriend as a threat," Dastardos brushed a disobedient lock of silver hair off of the forehead of his mask. "Send all those idiots in the Village into a tizzy again."

"I don't _'ave _a boyfriend," Avalon scoffed. "And Pester won't be cutting off any of my fingers if I 'ave anything to say about it."

"Don't give Pester ideas, he could be eavesdropping," Dastardos stretched and yawned hugely. "He might cut off your butt instead or something. Might be too heavy for a Ruffian to carry, though…"

Avalon's face blazed and she ignored her screaming muscles and leapt up. She gripped onto the bars of the cage and glared at Dastardos with all of her might. "Yew are _impossible._ Why do yew feel the need to poke fun at everyone yew meet? So _disgustingly,_ too!"

"It's fun!" Dastardos bared the crooked teeth of his mask at Avalon. "When you have a job that sucks as much as mine does, you need to be able to find a streak of humor in just about anything." Dastardos folded his arms and began to muse. "There's this one gardener…Dustin, I think his name was…stupid kid, hate him more than I hate most people. He had a Mallowolf named Peter. I smashed it, looked him dead in the eye, and said 'Sorry, Peter petered out.'" Dastardos threw his head back and burst into a cruel, loud laugh. "You should have seen him cry. Didn't even have a shovel to smack me with!"

"That is a _terrible_ joke," Avalon backed away from the bars and buried her mask in her hands.

"Eh, you kinda had to be there…" Dastardos shrugged nonchalantly. "_I_ thought it was funny."

"'Ey…" Avalon raised her head from her hands. "If yew 'ate your job so much, why don't yew just…quit?"

A brief look of horror appeared on Dastardos' mask, but it was quickly replaced by his usual irritated expression. "I _can't._ That's all I'm saying on that matter." Dastardos folded his arms tightly and swiveled his chair so he was facing away from Avalon. "Would you quit it with the questions? How many times do I have to tell you not to get inside my head? I don't even know the first thing about you, lady, except that you have a _huge _stick up your-"

"ENOUGH!" Avalon spat and stomped one of her boots against the stone floor, making a great, echoing loud sound. Dastardos actually _jumped._ Avalon couldn't help letting the slightest of smiles appear on her mouth before her severe expression returned. "I don't know where yew get off, insulting everyone yew meet! Did yew ever stop and think that someone might be able to _'elp_ you? I don't know what your problem is, but yew clearly 'ave a LOT of them! Isn't killing innocent piñatas enough? Don't take out your frustrations on people that yew _barely_ know, _especially _in a situation like this! This experience could 'ave at least been _tolerable_ for the both of us, but yew keep _ruining_ it with that _mouth _of yours!" Avalon stabbed a finger through the bars in the general direction of Dastardos' lopsided lips, which were parted. He had the strangest expression on his mask, but Avalon wasn't about to let that distract her.

"Where do yew get off making other peoples' lives _miserable?_ I've 'eard far too many awful stories about yew, and then I get dragged 'ere and learn that yew 'ave the mentality of an _eight-year-old!"_ Avalon spat, her voice tense with anger. "Yew aren't _terrifying_ at all, yew're just a little _shit!"_ With that last word, Avalon sucked in an enormous breath, her hair a mess and sweat dripping down from under her mask. She let herself fall to the floor and gave Dastardos an expectant look. After a brief moment of thought, she expected him to try and prove how terrifying he was, which made Avalon think that this wasn't a very good idea.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for Dastardos to fly through the bars and lop her head off with one swing of The Whacking Stick.

She waited…

…and she waited…

…but she heard nothing but the sound of her own ragged breathing.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally heard a noise. A small, slow, popping sound that echoed off of the walls in the room.

Avalon cracked one eye open and could hardly believe what she saw.

Dastardos was slowly applauding her, his yellow lips curled into a smile and a dark look in his eyes. Avalon wasn't sure what to make of this as Dastardos' applause grew even faster and louder.

"_Bravo,_ Miss Pendragonache!" Dastardos actually got up out of his chair and meandered over to the captive Avalon, his long scarves dragging on the ground underneath his floating feet. "You have some _serious_ guts. _No one_ has ever stood up to me like that!"

"Y-yew aren't going to…_kill_ me?" Avalon couldn't help scurrying back a bit once she was closer to the Reaper. She should have known that calling out someone with a reputation of just being the slightest bit 'evil' would be playing with fire.

"Are you nuts?" Dastardos' brows rose more than halfway up the forehead of his mask. "Well, obviously you _are_ nuts, but that's not a bad thing. I've _never_ met anyone who did what you did!"

"Wot? Told yew off?" Avalon blinked in disbelief. She's heard plenty of gardeners brag about laughing in the face of death, but she could imagine that there wasn't much truth behind those statements…

"Told me off _well,"_ Dastardos bared his crooked teeth. "Okay, Avalon, you win. I'll play your little game."

"Wot 'little game?'" Avalon folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at the floating figure before her.

"You're curious about me, right?" One of Dastardos' scarves reared up and gently rested its 'head' on Dastardos' chest. "That little outburst made me more than a little curious about _you."_ With that, Dastardos leaned down and thrust his head through the bars, grinning at Avalon with his face mere inches away from hers. He gave her a quick chuck under the chin and she did her best to suppress a shudder, but her resistance was futile. Dastardos exuded an aura of coldness. His breath was practically freezing and smelled faintly of acid, and his fingers felt like frozen bone.

"Like I suh-said earlier…" Avalon did her best to keep Dastardos' proximity from affecting her, but she couldn't help stuttering just a little bit. She averted her eyes and continued to speak. "It's 'ard not to be curious about a living phantom." Her voice was much steadier now that she wasn't making contact with Dastardos' lifeless, uneven eyes.

"It's hard not to be curious about someone who can hold their ground against me, too…" Much to Avalon's relief, Dastardos withdrew from the cage and floated a bit higher, his skeletal arms crossed tightly across his chest. "Guess you don't have too big of a stick up your butt after all. Tell ya what, missy; if you let me ask you a few questions, I'll answer a few of yours. Seems like a fair trade…"

Avalon looked at the Reaper's cocky smirk and felt all fear melt away. He didn't _seem_ like he wanted to hurt her…that smirky smile didn't seem too maleficent. "I'm guessing I can't ask anything too personal?" she asked tentatively, resting a hand on her throbbing forearm. Her muscle pains were starting to fade away, but not by much.

"Not if you value your limbs," Dastardos might have been making a threat, but his cocky look and playful tone of voice just made Avalon feel…weird. Dastardos' scarves waved back and forth, making strange, short hissing sounds. Were they…chuckling?

"Fine," Avalon rose to her feet again so she was towering over the pint-sized Reaper. She felt a lot more at ease when she was standing near him; even with his feet off the ground, Dastardos' height had almost nothing on hers. "But only if yew stop acting like a child." Avalon reached an arm through the bars and gave Dastardos a flick on the tip of his mask.

Dastardos frowned and made a point of floating just a little bit higher. "Sounds good to me, Avalon. I get to go first, though," Dastardos stuck out his tongue at her and flew backwards, right into his chair.

Avalon rolled her eyes so hard her head went with them. "Yew're already acting like a child again."

"Sorry I don't meet your maturity criteria, Sugar Queen," Dastardos slumped in his chair and folded his hands over his concave stomach. "How old are _you?_ Must be old since you're talking down to me like that."

"…Sugar Queen?" Avalon stuck out her lower lip at Dastardos and he waved her off.

"Just answer the question," Dastardos yawned.

"…I just turned twenty-four," Avalon said after a short pause. Why the hell did he want to know her _age,_ of all things?

"HAH!" Dastardos leapt off of the chair and into the air. "I'm older than you! No talking down to me!" Dastardos shook a skeletal finger at Avalon, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Avalon threw up her hands. "Can I ask something now?"

"That was the deal!" Dastardos flew back down into the chair so hard that he sent it wheeling back and it bumped against the wall. The Reaper was unshaken, looking at Avalon with an expectant look on his mask and his chin resting on a fist.

"I think I figured out the reason behind your big talk," Avalon smirked maliciously at Dastardos and leaned forward. "Are yew _compensating for something?"_

Much to Avalon's surprise, the sides of Dastardos' mask colored a deep black and his jaw dropped. "I-I'm not compensating for ANYTHING!" Dastardos flew up to the cage and reached behind his head. He pulled out the Whacking Stick and held it proud and high. "When you have a weapon like _this_ and a job like _mine,_ you need to talk big!" Dastardos lowered his staff, stuck it through the bars, and poked it against Avalon's nose, which she promptly wrinkled in irritation. Dastardos raised his good eye and looked around shiftily before focusing on Avalon. "They wouldn't take me seriously otherwi-"

Dastardos' little confession was interrupted by Avalon barking a laugh. It was a quick, short one, but loud and noticeable, as sudden as the sun bursting through dark rainclouds.

"Yew _are_ compensating for something!" Avalon chuckled again and raised a palm to about Dastardos' forehead level. "Yew think people won't take yew seriously because yew're short!"

Dastardos' cheeks turned black again. "So…the captured princess is a perceptive one…" He slammed The Whacking Stick into his palm as he spoke. "That gives me an idea for another question…"

"What might that be?" Avalon challenged.

A grin spread across Dastardos' mask, the blackness draining from his mask's cheeks. "Hear any…news from around town? I like to stay up to date on the embarrassing mishaps of other people."

"That's an easy one," Avalon said after letting out a breath of relief. She lowered her voice to a whisper and began: "Yew didn't 'ear this from me, but I 'eard that the little piñata man Jeffe has fallen in love…"

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"PERFECT, isn't it?" Yoto grinned like a loon as he twirled Avalon's Dastardos shovel in his hands. "A little heavy, but nothing I can't handle. That just means it packs even more of a wallop!" Yoto punched the air to punctuate his sentence and beamed at Storkos.

Yoto and Storkos were on a walk through the Village before they headed off to rescue Avalon. They had scarfed down breakfast at Storkos' house and they were on their way to Costolot's to buy some candy to divert the attention of the Ruffians with.

"Even though we barely slept, I'm glad you're as enthusiastic as I am!" Storkos gave Yoto's arm a squeeze. "Yup, you'll have no problems with that big old shovel, Tigermisu!"

Yoto burst into an entirely unmanly giggling fit, blushing to the tips of his ears.

"Storkos?" An all-too-familiar Irish lilt said from behind the almost-couple.

Storkos whirled around in a swirl of cape, nearly knocking Yoto over. A huge grin spread across her face. "Wow, what are all of YOU doing here?"

Yoto righted himself and got a good look at the small crowd behind them.

Bart was there, his arms folded, as usual, but with an unusually wide smile on his mask. Jardiniero was there, his eyes glimmering behind his thick glasses. Seedos slumped next to his father, looking like he _really_ didn't want to be there, and Leafos had an arm around her grouchy brother.

"We wanted to bid you bon voyage!" Bart uncrossed his arms and swept a hand upwards.

"Uncle Bart, this is _not_ a vacation, this is _justice!"_ Yoto stomped a foot and Storkos giggled.

"Just _please_ bring my sister back in one piece?" Seedos finally looked up, his eyes pleading.

"Storkos could take them on _alone!"_ Yoto thrust the shovel towards the sky. "I'm just there for backup support…and for Dastardos brain bashing!"

"And I appreciate everything you're doing!" Storkos looked at Yoto with a glimmer in her eyes and wrapped one arm around his shoulder, squeezing him into a side-hug.

Leafos' eyes got really, _REALLY_ big. "Hello…what's all this, then?" She folded her gloved hands under her chin and gave her sister an eager look.

"Now's not really a good time for that, Leafos…" Jardiniero gave his daughter a chastising glance and she slumped in disappointment.

"Fine…"  
>Jardiniero shook his head before turning it towards Yoto. "Please make sure my daughter doesn't hurt herself…" Jardiniero sighed. "I can't afford to lose another child…two sons were more than enough…"<p>

"I'm _right here…"_ Seedos ground the enormous teeth of his mask and glared so hard at Jardiniero that Yoto expected his glasses to crack.

"Yes…" Jardiniero let out an even longer sigh. "Two was _much_ more than enough."

"I can take a few bumps and bruises!" Storkos beat her ample chest with one fist. "Don't forget, I've taken on Pester during P-Factor rounds!"

"And nearly made your father perish from cardiac arrest!" Bart chuckled, his gloved hand covering his mouth. Jardiniero gave him a flat look and turned back to his daughter.

"I have faith in you, Storkos…" Underneath his bountiful beard, Storkos saw a small smile.

"Aww, Daddy…" Storkos flew over to Jardiniero, bent down to his level, and gave him a hug.

Jardiniero squinted at Yoto over his daughter's shoulder and Yoto felt every part of his body start to quake. That look said it all:

_"If you touch my daughter, I'm going to run you over and dump your body in the lake."_

Yoto's eye contact with Jardiniero was broken when his uncle walked in between the two of them. He cleared his throat and offered his hand to Yoto.

"Good luck, boy," A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "And not just with the liberation of Avalon, if you hornswoggle my Flapyak." Bart gave Yoto a lewd wink, a firm handshake, and a hearty clap on the back.

"In English, please?" Yoto blinked at his uncle, cocking his head to the side in a very accurate impersonation of a confused Parrybo.

Bart leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Good luck with Storkos. Anyone who has _my_ flesh and blood should always be successful with the ladies," Bart winked yet again and Yoto burst into a startled coughing fit.

"Shhhhh! She might hear you!" he hissed at his uncle, but Bart only laughed.

Once Storkos was done hugging and kissing her entire family repeatedly and giving quite a few extra kisses to her younger brother, she returned to Yoto's side and hooked her arm through his.

"We're off to the store now! Thanks _so much_ for coming, you guys! It means a lot to me!" Storkos gushed, her smile wider than Yoto had ever seen.

"Be careful!" Leafos and Seedos said in unison. They turned to each other with a look of amused disbelief.

"Uh…yeah…thanks for coming, Uncle Bart," Yoto smiled at his uncle, who tipped his hat to him. "Where's Yen? Does he not love me?" Yoto feigned offense, pouting as hard as he could.

"Yen's so deeply asleep I thought he was no longer with us," Bart snorted. "He was up all night fixing that bird of Avalon's."

"Yen found Cid?" Storkos breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness…Avalon would be upset if she came home to find that Cid was…" Storkos shook her head. "What a guy, giving up his whole night just for that! Avalon will be _so_ relieved!"

"Yeah…" Leafos scratched her chin and a mischievous smile spread across her lips. "…what a guy…"

"What are you thinking about _now?"_ Seedos looked at his sister incredulously.

"Oh, _nothing…"_ Leafos giggled behind her hand and looked off into the distance, her eyes wistful. Seedos huffed; he knew that face very well. Leafos _loved_ playing Cupid, and she always got that look when she was plotting a way to get two people together.

"Well, tell Yen if I die, he can't have my stuff," Yoto joked, his trademark impish grin on his face. "C'mon, Storkos, let's get us some candy!" He pumped his shovel in the air and Storkos' free fist soon followed it.

"HECK YES!" she shouted vigorously and hugged Yoto's arm.

With that, the two of them headed off to Costolot's, Storkos leaning her head on Yoto's shoulder and Yoto practically skipping along the road.

"Eugh," Seedos shuddered. "Look at them. They probably…licked each other's tongues or something!"

"WHAT?" Jardiniero's head snapped towards his youngest son, his eyes impossibly wide behind his glasses.

Bart just chuckled. "You have a lot to learn, boy," Bart walked over to Seedos and gave him a patronizing pat on the head.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Avalon and Dastardos had gone from hating each other's guts to actually _laughing_ at what one another had to say. Dastardos was somewhat surprised; he always pegged Avalon as the stoic, humorless type. He couldn't help giving himself a mental pat on the back for making someone like her laugh so hard.

"I can't _believe_ yew did that to poor Patch!" Avalon wiped her eye and shook her head vigorously to knock some sense back into herself. "I…I shouldn't laugh at that, but it's just so…impressive!"

"I try," Dastardos tossed one end of his scarf over his shoulder, a smug look on his mask. "Wanna hear a story about the one time I terrified Petula so hard she…" Dastardos trailed off, his smug look falling into a look of shock.

"She wot?" Avalon asked, but Dastardos held up a finger to silence her.

After a few moments, Avalon could hear what Dastardos was so worked up about. Lumbering footsteps, headed right towards them.

"Act like I've been torturing you this whole time," Dastardos hissed through clenched teeth. "_PESTER'S COMING."_

Avalon did her best to hold back a gasp, nodded briskly, and sprawled herself on the floor and groaned.

Dastardos leapt out of his chair and had his Whacking Stick out by the time Pester came crashing through the doors.

"MY MOST MALICIOUS MINION!" Pester greeted Dastardos as if he hadn't seen him in years, stomping over to him and pulling him into a giant hug.

"Can't you call me something _besides_ that?" Dastardos' disgusted, muffled voice grumbled up from Pester's chest.

"Now, now, it's not the time for nicknames!" Professor Pester finally let Dastardos go and posed victoriously. "I have a good feeling about today! I think the Village is about to _crack_ and bring me my lovely, lovely ransom!" Pester licked his lips hungrily.

"You're gonna get fat if you eat all that candy," Dastardos said flatly. His good eye rolled towards Pester's stomach and he corrected himself. "Fatt_er."_

"Oh, come_ on_, Dastardos, that means there's more of me to love!" Pester patted his belly and Dastardos suppressed a gag. He left his minion alone and strolled up to the cage, a sadistic, shark-like grin adorning his mask. "And how is our little princess doing?"

"Urrrrrgh…" Avalon made a big show of moaning, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. If she opened her eyes and saw Pester staring down at her, she had a feeling that she'd probably die of a heart attack.

"Not so well," Dastardos floated up next to his boss, one end of his scarf casually resting on his hip. "I made _sure_ of that." He grinned patronizingly at his boss.

"Oooh, what did you do? Beating? Rape? Did you take the torture devices out of the basement and take them for a spin? Knock out her teeth? Cut off her toes?" Pester was practically bouncing with anticipation. "Give her a tonsillectomy using only that staff of yours?"

_Shit, Dastardos hadn't made up a fake story…_

Luckily, Avalon was a fast thinker. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave Pester the most pathetic look she could muster. "'e…'e's practically beaten me 'alf to death with that staff of 'is…" Avalon choked back a few Cocoadile tears. "Not to mention 'e said _'orrible_ things to me…! I 'ave never been so insulted in my life!" Avalon burst into full on fake sobbing and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Yeah…Yeah! I gave 'er the works," Dastardos found himself saying. He shrugged with a modest smile and both ends of his scarf nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "She's a broken woman now!"

"Ah," Pester stuck out his lower lip. "Beating and tormenting is so passé, Dastardos. I expected better from you!" He bent down and gave Avalon his sharky grin. "She deserves _much more _than that…the snooty bitch."

"No! _PLEASE!"_ Avalon cried. "'E's done _enough!"_

Damn, she was a good actress. Dastardos was stunned for a moment before he floated up next to Pester and gave him a smack on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm in charge of the torture here, and I'm not planning anything too extravagant," Dastardos folded his arms. "Like you said, they're probably getting the ransom together right now!"

"They better be," Pester poked Dastardos in the chest. "Because if she's still here tomorrow, we're _switching jobs."_

_"What?"_ Dastardos sounded much more alarmed than he meant to.

"WHAT?" Avalon's horrified reaction was utterly genuine. _Damn, she thought she had done a good job of playing up the tears…_

"It's_ sooooooooooooooo _boring sitting in there watching the monitors all day!" Pester stomped a foot like a petulant child. "At first it was fun, because I got to see Leafos undressing, but then it just got BOR-_ING!_ I want the _exciting_ job!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Avalon wailed a bit too melodramatically. She peeked at Dastardos from behind her hand, awaiting his objections to Pester's claim.

Sadly, she never got what she hoped for.

"Oh-kay then," Dastardos scratched his tangled mass of silver hair. "Tomorrow, she's all yours…assuming the ransom doesn't come first."

"I win either way!" With that, Pester threw his head back and burst into maniacal laughter. He kept on laughing until he was out of the room.

Once he was safely out of earshot, Dastardos flew over to the cage and gave Avalon a strange look. His brow was furrowed and he was biting his lip. Was he…actually _concerned?_

"I can't _believe_ yew let 'im say 'e could 'ave your job!" Avalon glowered as she sat up. Her fake, broken demeanor had completely crumpled away and she looked pretty damn pissed.

"What _could_ I say? Hell knows what he would do if he knew that we've gotten all buddy-buddy," Dastardos shuddered briefly. "You better pray that your little rescue party gets their asses over here ASAP. I wouldn't wish being tortured by Pester on my worst enemy."

"That's…reassuring…" Avalon slumped back over, resting her cheek against the cold stone floor.

Dastardos sighed and returned to the desk. He put his head down, closed his eyes, and shut his mouth. A long, thick, tension filled silence followed.

"Text your ginger," Dastardos' grumbling finally broke the silence.

"Excuse me?" Avalon inquired. "I didn't catch that."

"Text. Your. Ginger," Dastardos enunciated, waving his hands on each word for emphasis. "If he isn't coming today, I'm going to call him and make _sure_ he does."

"Didn't yew say yew didn't want anyone to find out about us beings 'buddy-buddy?'" Avalon didn't know whether to smirk or frown as she rooted around for her Alert System.

"I'll pretend like you're driving me up the wall and I want the Village to take you back," Dastardos reclined in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "Won't be too hard to fake." His twisted mouth curled into a cocked smile.

"Yew're an ass…" Avalon sounded mildly amused in spite of the situation.

"Yes, but I don't want Pester to lay a _finger_ on you," Dastardos huffed. "He might act like a moron, but you have no idea what he's capable of…"

"Did 'e do something to yew?" Avalon looked up from her text and fixed Dastardos with an expectant look.

"Yeah," Dastardos said as nonchalantly as he could. "Aid in my existence to this world. I was his test tube baby." Dastardos stuck his tongue out and made a gagging sound. "I don't want anyone to know my genes were his. Don't tell _anyone."_

Avalon squinted at him for a moment, but she seemed satisfied with his answer and returned to her texting.

_I hope those stupid kids get here soon,_ Dastardos swiveled the chair around to face the wall. _Hell knows what Pester will do to her if they don't…_


	6. Denouement

Yoto sucked in a deeeeeep breath as he looked up at the enormous volcano before him and Storkos, tightening his shaky grip on Avalon's shovel. Professor Pester had somehow managed to get his likeness carved into the mountain, and lava gushed out of the eyes and mouth. The imposing mountain-Pester had one fist clenched and looked more than ready to bring it down upon Yoto's head.

"Damn, I always forget how scary this guy's house is…" Yoto tugged on his collar with his free hand. Storkos punched Yoto in the arm playfully.

"The proper term is 'evil lair,' Yoto!" She waggled a finger at him in mock sternness. "If you're gonna be a hero, you gotta talk like a hero!" She winked at Yoto and Yoto felt his legs turn to jelly again.

"Yeh-yes! His _evil lair_ is _terrifying!"_ Yoto nodded, a dead serious look on his face. "But it's nothing I can't handle!" Yoto rested a fist on his hip and puffed out his chest like a confident Cluckles.

"Especially with _me_ right by your side!" Storkos gave Yoto's arm an affectionate squeeze. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"I feel like I should be telling _you_ that!" Yoto dropped the shovel for a moment and turned towards Storkos, his arms folded. "I'd _never_ forgive myself if anything happened to you up there!"

"Oh, really?" Storkos' full lips curled into a smile that had just a hint of mischief behind it. "And why is that?"

"Well, uh, you're a…pillar in the community!" Yoto's face blazed and he began to fiddle with the straps of his messenger bag. "Lots of people rely on you…you have a family to watch over…all that good stuff…!"

"Hmph," Storkos pouted a bit. "I can tell you're not telling the full truth, Yoto. Come on, spit it ou-"

Storkos was interrupted by Yoto's Alert System playing a loud, cheery, and obnoxious little noise.

"Oh man, I have a text, hold on…" Yoto fumbled around in his pockets for his Alert System.

"Good thing that went off," Storkos' tone was a bit scolding and she gave Yoto a light slap on the shoulder. "You should have that on silent, Yoto! Imagine if that started to ring while we were sneaking around!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm stupid, I know," Yoto beat himself up inside as he finally opened his Alert System.

Storkos' brow furrowed with guilt and she tugged at one of her gloves. "I wasn't saying that you were-"

The poor girl was interrupted again by Yoto exclaiming "Oh my God, it's from Avvie!"

"Really?" Storkos flew to Yoto's side and attempted to get a look at the screen. "What's it say?"

Yoto cleared his throat and launched into an Avalon impression. "Get 'ere as soon as possible. Pester said that 'e is going to take over torturing duties if no one comes with the ransom by the end of the day. Never thought I'd admit this, but I'm…afraid_, _Yoto…" Yoto's voice trailed off and he dropped the impression. He read the rest of the text in his normal voice; now wasn't the time for fooling around. "Do whatever it takes to get me home. I know you and Storkos can do it."

Yoto neglected to read the last line out loud. _"And, for God's sake, try not to let your lovesickness distract you."_

"Avalon's afraid…" Yoto shut his Alert System and dropped it back into his pocket unceremoniously. "She's _afraid._ I didn't think that was possible…"

"Hey, chin up, Yoto," Storkos raised Yoto's head with her hand and smiled into his eyes. "We have _all day._ And I've been to Pester's lair before! She said she believes in us; let's go exceed her expectations!" She started to fly upwards and paused in midair. "Wait…I forgot…you can't fly, can you?"

"I wish I could," Yoto slumped a bit and picked up the shovel from the ground. "I don't wanna hurt you with this shovel by accident…guess we'll have to walk up." Yoto looked more than a bit guilty.

"Oh well, nothing we can't handle!" Storkos grabbed Yoto by his free arm. "Let's get going!"

With that, the two of them ran to the side of the volcano and began their trek up.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Storkos was panting and sweating profusely by the time they got to the top. In her excitement and haste to get to the lair before anything happened to Avalon, she decided that running up the entire way was a good idea. She collapsed to the ground to catch her breath, sitting up and fanning herself with her cape. She wasn't used to running; it certainly took a whole lot more out of her than flying did!

Yoto, on the other hand, was completely fine. He always had a ridiculous amount of stamina, so running up the side of a gigantic volcano was no big deal for him. Still, he sat down next to Storkos with his borrowed shovel behind him and waited for her to catch her breath.

"I'm…sorry, Yoto…" Storkos huffed, reaching up underneath her mask to wipe her sweaty forehead. "I didn't think…this would happen…I wanted to…get up here fast…so…"

"No problem, like you said, we've got all day," Yoto smiled at her and opened up his bag. After groping about in it for a few seconds, he produced a water bottle. "Good thing I brought this!"

"Oh my gosh, gimme," Storkos grabbed the bottle from Yoto a millisecond after he pulled it out, twisted the cap off, and gulped down the contents thirstily. In her haste, a good bit of water splashed out from the bottom of her mouth and spilled over her neck. Yoto felt his face erupt into flames again and he quickly looked away.

Yoto heard Storkos sigh in satisfaction and twist the cap of the bottle back on. "Thanks, Yoto, I feel better already!" She laughed and wrung out the front of her dress. "Even if that was a bit messy. At least it cooled me down!"

Yoto turned back towards Storkos and almost melted when he saw the smile on her face. That was a real, honest smile. Storkos wasn't nervous about facing the dangers ahead at all; she actually seemed _happy_ to be here!

_What a woman._ Yoto couldn't say the same for himself. He was looking forward to showing off in front of Storkos, but when he thought about how his best friend's life could be on the line, his stomach twisted up in knots…

Storkos noticed Yoto's troubled expression. "Hey…is something wrong?" She scooched closer to Yoto and leaned in to study his expression. "You look like you got punched in the stomach."

"I can't keep anything from you," Yoto sighed and shook his head. "I'm worried about Avvie. She's like the big sister I never had…what if Pester threatens to hurt her if we come in swinging?"

"I'll kick his fat butt, that's what I'll do!" Storkos pounded her fist into her palm. "Pester's all bark and no bite most of the time! Keep in mind he constantly gets his butt kicked by a _girl."_ Storkos gestured to herself with more than a bit of pride.

"Heh," Yoto chuckled. "I shouldn't doubt you. You always seem to be right!" He felt his cheeks turn piping hot again. Damn, if this kept up, his body heat would rival the volcano's.

"I'm a heroine, it's only natural!" Storkos stood up and brushed herself off. "Come on, Yoto, we have some bad guys to beat up!" She offered Yoto her gloved hand. He grinned up at Storkos, took her hand, and was promptly yanked to his feet.

After a moment, Storkos pulled Yoto into a warm hug. "I _promise_ we'll get out of here safe. You, me, _and_ Avalon. I'd never get over it if anything happened to either of you guys…" Her voice was soft for once, her words barely breaths next to Yoto's ear. "I know we just recently started talking to each other, but…I never felt so close to someone. Your honest love for your friend, you willing to risk yourself in order to get her back…" Storkos pulled back from Yoto and smiled right into his eyes. "Yoto, you're something else."

"Suh-so are you!" Yoto couldn't help stammering. _Was this really happening? Was he dreaming? Did Storkos actually…?_

"Willing to kick villainous butt in a _suit,_ no less!" Storkos laughed, her arms still wrapped around Yoto. "You could have gone home and changed, you know."

"Hey, I like to look nice when I kick ass," Yoto shrugged with a grin. "You _always_ look great, you should know the feeling!"

"Aw, you're too sweet…" Storkos trailed off and suddenly looked very thoughtful, pursing her full lips and knitting her brow. After a silence, she finally said: "Hey, Yoto?"

"Yeah?" Yoto cocked his head to the side. "Something bugging you?"

No amount of preparation could have made Yoto ready for Storkos' answer to his question. Storkos stood on her bare toes, wrapped her arms around Yoto's neck, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips against his.

Yoto almost gasped hard enough to inhale Storkos' whole head and his body went rigid. Storkos broke away from him right when he was ready to kiss her back, and slammed a palm into her forehead.

Storkos, not too experienced in the romance department, began to promptly vomit whatever words entered her head at a rapid pace. "I'm sorry, that was too forward, now isn't the time, we have a rescue mission to go on, neither of us can afford distractions, agh, you probably don't feel the same way, oh man, now you have lipstick smudged all over your mouth, I'm _so_ sor-MMPH!"

Storkos' dithering was silenced by Yoto lunging forward, dipping her down, and kissing her with all of his might. Every last bottled up feeling of love he'd kept inside, every year of watching and admiring her from afar, every last romantic thought about Storkos manifested itself in Yoto's kiss.

Sure, he was more than a little overzealous and Storkos nearly choked on his tongue at one point, but she eventually let her eyes flutter closed and kissed him right back, holding onto his back in a tight embrace as their lips pressed into one another.

After what seemed simultaneously like a second and an eternity, Yoto finally straightened up and the two of them came apart.

"Wow…" Storkos touched her mouth with a tentative finger, as if she wasn't sure she had just been kissed with such a sheer amount of passion.

"Wow is right…" Yoto breathed. He didn't even bother to wipe the smeared lipstick or saliva off of his mouth, he was in such shock. _HE. HAD. FINALLY. KISSED. STORKOS!_ In front of a villain's lair, no less! What a kiss it was; that _exceeded_ all of his expectations! His chest felt like it was full of a swarm of Flutterscotches on speed. Great, he was going to die of a heart attack now. How would Storkos explain _that_ one to Avalon?

Storkos' voice broke Yoto out of his lovestruck haze.

"Come on, Tigermisu," Storkos squeezed Yoto's hand. "Grab that shovel. We have some rescuing to do!"

"Oh, right, rescuing! Yup!" Yoto grinned like a fool and stumbled forward, picking up the shovel with excited, shaky hands.

In Yoto's mind, he couldn't help thanking God that Avalon got kidnapped. Sure, her life and sanity were at risk…but HE GOT TO KISS STORKOS!

"This is the best day ever," Yoto sighed under his breath as Storkos punched a button on the wall. The enormous metal door to Pester's lair slid open and revealed a long, dark hallway.

"Not yet, Yoto," Storkos playfully waggled a finger at him. "We still need to go and rescue Avalon, remember?"

"All right," Yoto sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not nervous anymore. We can do this!"

"Atta boy!" Storkos gave Yoto an enthusiastic slap on the butt before hooking her arm into his. "Let's kick some bad guy _ass!"_

_I love you I love you I love you I love you…_ Yoto's lovesick mind babbled on and on as Storkos led him down the hallway.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"Har_rumph," _Pesters stomped his foot impatiently as he scrolled and scrolled and scrolled through the camera footage he had set up around the town. As far as he could tell, _no one_ was getting his ransom together! No one was doing anything even remotely entertaining, either.

Leena was in her mess of a garden fretting over a wilting bunch of tulips, Petula and Fannie were gossiping over cups of coffee, that gloomy nephew of Bart's was dead asleep with an enormous Crowla in his arms…

Langston was also napping, drool seeping out of the corner of his paper mouth and onto his computer's keyboard.

"Hmph, does he not _care_ that his most prized gardener is locked _tightly_ within my lair?" Professor Pester slammed a fist on his console. "He was practically hopping with nerves yesterday! Now he's _asleep?_ He should be gathering up my ransom! He has access to more candy than _anyone_ on this godforsaken Island does! Maybe that deplorable rich kid and his father are gathering up my money…"

A few quick clicks through the many cameras installed in the Lizard mansion revealed that certainly wasn't the case. Eddie's father hadn't even returned yet, and Eddie was sitting on his couch, a blanket wrapped around him, crying his eyes out into Sparcticus' shoulder. Sahari was there too, giving Eddie tentative pats on the back and Sparcticus nervous, fleeting glances. Judging by the borderline crazed expression on her mask, they had been there a long, long time.

"DAMN IT!" Professor Pester slammed both of his meaty fists into his desk, making hefty dents in the metal. He was too pissed off to care. Urgh, maybe he could find something that would cheer him up on one of the other cameras…

Gretchen zipping up her hunting gear (damn it, he was a few seconds too late), Bart animatedly discussing something with a very irritated-looking Jardiniero, and-

"EUGH!" Professor Pester exclaimed, turning off his computer monitor as quickly as he possibly could. Seeing Doc Patchingo slathering ointment on Seedos' bumpy, bright red, full-body rash was something he could have gone the rest of his life without seeing.

"RUFFIAN!" Pester swiveled his chair around and shouted. "ANY OF YOU! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND BRING ME A DRINK! SOMETHING _STRONG!"_

A minute later the female Ruffian came toddling into the room, pigtails bouncing, with a tall glass of something bright red in her disproportionate hands. Professor Pester grabbed it from her, accidentally splashed a good amount of the drink onto her head, and gulped it down like someone was going to take it away from him.

"Ahhhh…" Professor Pester sighed as he dropped the now-empty glass back into his Ruffian's hands. "Keep them coming! I need to forget all of my troubles tonight!"

The Ruffian began to protest, but Pester held up a hand to silence her.

"Oh, hush, I _never_ get hangovers, I'll still be in fine condition to torture our little captured princess tomorrow!" Professor Pester chortled but quickly turned mean. He gave his Ruffian a kick in the butt and added: "And bring me something _sweet_ this time! That tasted like your body odor after you come back from vandalizing a garden!"

The female Ruffian skulked off with the glass under her muscular arm, squeezing a sopping pigtail with her free hand.

Professor Pester stumbled over to his more comfortable chair. He always seemed to come up with his best ideas when he drank…he couldn't help letting out a loud laugh when he realized that he would have something mighty evil in store for Avalon the next day!

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

"I still can't _believe_ yew _encouraged_ 'im!" Avalon wrung and rattled the rusty bars of her cage roughly, obviously wishing that she could do the same to Dastardos' neck.

"I didn't 'encourage 'im'!" Dastardos crossed his eyes as he mocked Avalon's heavy British accent. "I just said 'okay!'"

_"That still counts!" _Avalon practically screeched. She slid down to the bottom of the cage and buried her mask in her hands. "To make things even worse, I never got a response from Yoto. My worst fears are coming true…"

"What fears are those, exactly?" Dastardos asked, cocking a brow and floating closer to the cage.

"Yoto's too wrapped up in Storkos to even focus on coming to get me out of this god-awful place!" Avalon slammed a fist into the stony floor and immediately regretted it, hissing in pain and shaking her hand out. "I thought I could trust 'im, but I guess I was wrong…" Avalon drew her knees up to her chest, looking absolutely crestfallen. Her lip was quivering and her eyebrows were drooping, but she never shed a single tear. Dastardos frowned a bit. He never pegged Avalon as the sort to get emotional…

"Yew've never seen anything more _pathetic _or _nauseating _than his love for 'er…" Avalon snorted, her voice heavy with her disappointment.

"I could name a few things…" Dastardos mused with a roll of his eyes and Avalon silenced him with a glare. She really wasn't in the mood for his flapyackshit snarky comments.

"'E probably got so wrapped up in impressing 'er that 'e's relishing the time that 'e has to talk to 'er, stalling as much as possible, claiming that 'e and Storkos are 'preparing for the rescue of their _dear friend _Avalon.'" Avalon chuckled ironically, her tone becoming crueler as she went on. "Yoto probably 'asn't even checked 'is Alert System at all, too distracted by Storkos and 'ow goddamned _perfect _he thinks she is."

"Are you…jealous?" That was the first word that popped into Dastardos' head. He found himself saying it without really thinking it through.

"Wot," Avalon gave Dastardos the harshest look of incredulity that he had ever seen.

"Well, you and that annoying ginger, since you're always together, I always thought you were, you know…" Dastardos crossed two of his bony fingers together tightly. "Like _this."_

"Don't be _ridiculous,"_ Avalon barked a laugh and shook her head, further messing up her long black hair. "We're friends…_great _friends…I always 'elp 'im and 'e always comes to me for advice…'e's a good kid…at least…I _thought_ he was…" Avalon sighed morosely and looked down at the stony ground and began to absent-mindedly trace a long, winding crack in the concrete with a finger. "At least 'e will probably feel guilty when he 'eard about my brutal torture at the 'ands of Professor Pester…" Avalon gritted her teeth and slammed a hand into her cheek, as if to slap herself awake. "'Ow could I say that so _casually?_ That filthy bastard is going to _kill _me if the Village refuses to get 'im wot 'e wants!" Avalon's voice cracked quite a bit when she said "kill" and Dastardos felt something knot in his chest.

"No, he won't," Dastardos found himself saying before he could stop his words.

"Wot," Avalon gave Dastardos that harsh look of disbelief again.

Dastardos took a deep breath, turned transparent, and went right through the bars of the cage. He turned solid again as he floated down to the stone floor and crossed his legs tailor style right next to Avalon. Avalon tried to edge away, but Dastardos grabbed Avalon by the chin before she could.

"Listen up," Dastardos turned Avalon's head to face him. "I don't do favors for people often, but I don't _like_ people often. You're far more intriguing than any of those other empty-headed freaks who live on this Island."

"Um…" Avalon squinted at Dastardos. "…Thank yew? Where are yew getting with this?"

Dastardos took his hand away from Avalon's chin and looked at her seriously. "If Pester so much as lays a _finger_ on you, I'm going to knock him out and let you escape. I'll be in _deep_ shit if I do that, so I'll only do that as a last resort. If your ginger doesn't show up, though…" Dastardos held out a bony hand to Avalon. "…consider me your savior."

Avalon eyed Dastardos' hand warily, as if it was a particularly sharp-toothed Syrupent rearing to bite her. "Wot's the catch?"

"No catch," Dastardos clenched and unclenched his outstretched hand. "All I need to know is that Pester failed in yet another one of his schemes. That's reward enough." The corner of Dastardos' yellow mouth lifted into a smirk. "Not to mention you made this whole hostage-guarding thing quite a bit more bearable."

Avalon gave Dastardos a pale smile and finally shook his hand. Dastardos' hand was cold and skeletal and barely reassuring, but it was better to have one thread of hope to cling to than none at all.

"Also," Dastardos added as he let go of Avalon's hand. "If that stupid ginger doesn't show up, I'll personally kick his ass into next year for you."

"That won't be necessary," Avalon chuckled in spite of the situation.

Dastardos leaned in a bit too close to Avalon, a mischievous smirk adorning his mask. "You're no fun, _Princess."_ His scarf hissed in agreement.

"Go back to your desk," Avalon gently pushed Dastardos' face away with an index finger. "And yew better make good on that promise of yours."

"Oh, come on," Dastardos drawled as he flew back over to his desk. "Do I look like the untrustworthy type to you?" He folded his hands under his chin and looked at Avalon innocently.

Avalon shook her head. It would be better for both of them if she didn't answer that question.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Professor Pester's hallway was long and metallic, with small red lights on the wall every few pinometers. Storkos and Yoto were walking slowly, their heads flitting around the lair warily in case a Ruffian or a Sour Piñata decided to pop out from out of nowhere.

"It's _crazy_ quiet…" Storkos lowered her usually brash voice to a whisper.

"Do you think he has a trap set up?" Yoto asked, also speaking under his breath. "It would _totally suck_ if he saw us coming…"

"Oh, Yoto…" Storkos chuckled and shook her head. "It's _Pester._ If there's one thing I learned from tangling with him all these years, he almost _never_ thinks things through. The first time I foiled one of his plans, I was only _fourteen!"_

"No way," Yoto's jaw practically dislocated.

"Yes way," Storkos' green eyes glimmered with pride. "Granted, all he did was kidnap a few piñatas, but I taught him a thing or two," Storkos cracked her knuckles and grinned. "He's hated me ever since. It's hard to get over having your ass kicked by a little girl. God only knows how old Pester is now, but it still can't be fun to get beaten up by me." Storkos laughed triumphantly and Yoto felt his heart wobble like jelly. He loved her laugh; sure, he had heard other people describe it as "obnoxious" and one time his uncle Bart had called Storkos' laugh "cacophonous" or something, but to Yoto, it made her all the more charming. Storkos never held back when she laughed and it just reminded Yoto about what a fun, perfect, genuine girl she was…

"Wake up, Yoto," Storkos snapped her fingers in front of Yoto's lovesick face. "We're here." Storkos looked up and narrowed her eyes, a serious look on her face.

"Here…?" Yoto shook his head around to regain his sanity and had his own question answered when he followed Storkos' gaze. An enormous set of bright red metal doors with green and black sour paint patterns snaking up to the ceiling was before them.

"Wow," Yoto almost laughed. "Pester _really_ takes this whole 'evil' thing seriously, huh?"

"He even has a business card," Storkos said with a shake of her head, her tone dead serious. "Oh well, we'll take him down in no time!" She grabbed Yoto's hand that wasn't grasping the shovel and smiled at him. "Ready?"

"_Born_ ready," Yoto burst into a toothy grin. Storkos stood on her toes and gave Yoto another quick kiss on the mouth. She wrapped an arm around the now-glowing Tinker in training and kicked the huge set of doors open.

"PESTER! We're here to-" Storkos stopped short when she noticed exactly what was in front of her.

"_Wow,"_ Yoto wasn't sure whether to laugh or weep over the fact that he was getting all worked up about this rescue, only to come mask to mask with _this._

Professor Pester was slumped in an overstuffed armchair, his mask askew and a glazed look in his acid eyes. Several glasses were strewn across the floor, and a small gaggle of Ruffians were grumbling amongst themselves in the corner of the room.

Professor Pester failed to even notice the two trespassers despite Storkos' announcement, opening his mouth and letting out a room-shaking belch.

"That's not a very polite greeting," Yoto mock-pouted at the Professor and he suddenly sprang to wobbly life.

"Ruffies! Take care of these…things!" Pester slurred and flapped a hand in the general direction of Yoto and Storkos.

The four Ruffians broke out of their gibbering conversation and charged full speed at Yoto and Storkos.

"I don't think so…" Yoto sing-songed under his breath, digging in his bag and pulling out a fistful of candy. "GO LONG!" he shouted, hurling the bundle of sweets to a far corner of the enormous room.

The Ruffians promptly exclaimed with joy and proceeded to trample all over one another in an attempt to follow the brightly colored candy.

"NOOOOooooo…!" Pester's cry of distress trailed off and he rested a hand against one of his temples. "Urgh…"

The next thing he knew, Storkos had flown right in front of him and gotten right up into his face. The smell of alcohol on Pester's breath did nothing to faze Storkos from staring down the evil old man.

"I never imagined I'd find myself taking advantage of a drunk person," Storkos smirked as she cracked her knuckles. "But you just made this _way too easy_ for me."

"Oh, shi-OOF!" Pester was silenced by a hard punch to his bloated stomach.

"Go get Avalon, Yoto!" Storkos shouted over her shoulder as she grabbed Pester by the neck. "She's _bound_ to be behind one of the doors in here! And give Dastardos a good wallop for me!" Storkos gave Yoto a quick wink before she began repeatedly punching Pester in his masked face.

"Yes, ma'am!" Yoto saluted her, whipped around, and yanked open the first door he set his eyes on.

Eugh, _nope._ This was Pester's _bedroom!_ He had an enormous double bed and an even larger chest of drawers that seemed to be _overflowing_ with papers. There were statues of him all over the room and everything was patterned in that same sour way. Professor Pester really kept to form with his décor…

Yoto fought the overwhelming urge to go rooting around through Pester's stuff and made a buzzlegumline towards a metal door in the far corner of Professor Pester's control room.

He was greeted by an alarmed Dastardos kneeling in front of Avalon's cage and Avalon looking simultaneously baffled and delighted. Dastardos quickly flew to his feet and looked at the shovel in Yoto's hands like it was a rabid animal.

"AH-HAH!" Yoto pointed the shovel at Dastardos. "I found you, vile villain! You probably won't be willing to unhand the damsel, but I'm sure a smack in the head will change your mind!" Yoto charged forward with the shovel, lifted it over his head, and swung-

_CLUUUUUUUUUUNG!_

He hit _concrete?_

"Damn it, where did that bastard-" Yoto flipped his head around and his eyebrows nearly flew off his mask when he saw that Dastardos had retreated behind Avalon.

"Yoto," Avalon held up a hand and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "There's no need to 'it 'im."

"Buh-but he's-" Yoto spluttered in disbelief, twirling the shovel in his hands.

"-Gonna let Avalon out!" Dastardos finished Yoto's sentence for him. "Just don't you _dare_ hit me with that damn thing, you stupid ginger!"

"YOU'RE a stupid ginger!" Yoto held up the shovel threateningly and Avalon rolled her eyes so hard that her head went with them. "You're plotting something! You're going to incap me or hurt Avalon!"

"No, I'm not!" Dastardos flew out of the cage with his hands in the air. "Calm down, spaz! I'll get the key, it's in the desk drawer! Don't even _think_ about hitting me!"

"Hmph!" Yoto's grip tightened on the shovel and Avalon gave him a stern look.

"Yoto, 'e's not _that_ bad. Don't 'it 'im," Avalon's tone was as firm as the expression on her face.

"Fffffine," Yoto lowered the shovel just as Dastardos produced the keys.

"Would have let you out sooner, but like I said, that filthy bastard I worked for would have had my head," Dastardos twirled the keys around a finger and smirked at Avalon. "Metaphorically speaking, of course."

"Just let me out," Avalon rubbed her temples. "I've 'ad more than enough of this place…"

"Fine-"

The door to the room slammed open and Storkos' voice rang out "Hey, Yoto, how are you doin'?"

Yoto gasped and hit Dastardos over the head as hard as he could. Dastardos crumpled to the ground with a loud moan of pain and Yoto pried the keys from his fingers.

"Nice work, Yoto!" Storkos shouted victoriously. "Glad to see Dastardos didn't stand a _chance_ against you!"

Avalon slammed her face into her outstretched palms. "I can't _believe_ yew did that."

"What?" Yoto and Storkos whirled to face her, Yoto dropping his shovel in surprise.

"…nothing. Just let me out, please," Avalon lifted her face from her hands. "I'm glad yew showed up when yew did."

"Oh, I can imagine!" Storkos nodded as Yoto unlocked the cage. "Who _knows_ what Dastardos would have done to you!"

"It was _Pester_ I was worried about," Avalon snorted as Yoto tugged the heavy cage door with all his might. "I take it you took care of 'im?"

"Oh man, Avalon, he was drunk off his _ass!"_ Yoto laughed and slapped his knee after he finally let go of the door.

"Even if he wasn't, I would have had no trouble taking care of him!" Storkos planted her fists on her hips. "It was just _extra_ easy this time. Avalon, you're so lucky!"

"I know," Avalon finally smiled as she stood up, brushed off her dirty dress, and finally exited the cage that had been confining her for far, far too long. She grabbed Yoto and pulled him into an affectionate hug. "I thought yew would _never_ come."

"You kidding me?" Yoto hugged Avalon right back. "I'd _never_ leave you hanging! You're my best friend!"

Avalon squeezed Yoto tighter and then let him go. "Thanks so much, yew two. Professor Pester is…not a fun bloke to 'ang around."

"You said it!" Storkos laughed. "Come on, let's get out of here before he wakes up! Not that he'd be much of a threat, I knocked his drunken ass into three years from now!" Storkos practically strutted out the door, glowing with joy from a mission well done.

"Isn't she _great?"_ Yoto whispered to Avalon with a doofy grin on his face.

"She sure is…" Avalon half-smiled at Yoto. "Yew go on ahead. I need to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. Be out in one sec."

"If you say so!" Yoto shrugged and followed Storkos out the door.

Avalon bent down to pick up her shovel and cast a tentative glance over at the extremely unconscious Dastardos. She sighed, approached him, and crouched down next to him.

"'Ey, I'm sorry," she mumbled, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Yoto's…impulsive." Avalon reached out and gently smoothed Dastardos' messy hair a bit. "Thanks for making this not as terrible as it could 'ave been. Yew're all right, for an immature reaper." A smile crossed her lips and she straightened up.

"Avvie! Come on, what are you DOING in there?" Yoto's impatient voice called from outside. "Let's get going! I'm already sick of this place!"

"Fine, Yoto, fine!" Avalon huffed and headed out the door. She glanced briefly over her shoulder at Dastardos one last time before joining Yoto and Storkos in leaving the lair.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Upon returning to town at sunset, Yoto, Storkos, and Avalon were greeted by the people in the village square erupting into cheers. Of course, this attracted more people out of their shops and homes, and the cheers swelled up into an enormous standing ovation once they all saw that Avalon was safe and sound.

"I KNEW you could do it, boy!" Bart smacked Yoto on the back a bit too hard. "I'm chuffed that we have one of our paramount gardeners back…not to mention one of the most frequent patrons of my unique services!" He gave Yoto a sideways hug and winked at Avalon.

"I missed yew too, Bart," Avalon gave him a good natured smile. She jumped a bit when she suddenly felt arms wrap around her. She looked down and saw a frizzy mess of brown hair.

"Leena!" Avalon exclaimed, gently embracing the smaller girl

"They got you back!" Leena was obviously weeping, her voice heavy with joyous sobs. "I can't believe it! I _knew_ you were okay!"

Seedos popped up behind Leena, every exposed inch of his skin bright red and scratched up. "Yen kept saying you're probably going to give birth to a demon spawn. I take it that you aren't?" He asked, scratching a particularly raw spot on his elbow.

Avalon just looked at him flatly and continued to gently pet Leena's hair.

"Seedos, what happened to _you?"_ Storkos, looking very concerned, flew to Seedos' side and attempted to touch his arm.

"NO!" Seedos yanked his arm away from her. He sighed and added: "Urgh, sorry. I was so worried about you when you went off to save Avalon and I wasn't looking where I was walking…" Seedos shuffled his feet. "I tripped and fell into more poison ivy than I've ever seen in my life."

"Aww, I'm glad you were worried about me," Storkos barely resisted the urge to ruffle her younger brother's hair. "But I'll have to give you an IOU for a great big hug! Don't want to catch that rash…" She looked up and down Seedos' unfortunate body, "no offense."

"None taken," Seedos' mask burst into a gigantic grin. "Just glad to see that you're safe." He turned his attention back to his elbow, which was reddening rapidly with every scratch.

"I'll buy you some aloe vera later, little guy," Storkos shook her head at her poor brother.

"Hey…" a low voice caught Avalon's attention. Leena finally broke apart from her good friend and smiled at the newcomer.

"Hi, Yen-oh my God, you found Cid!" Leena's soft cries of joy were replaced with a tone of sheer delight and she folded her hands under her chin.

"He _did?"_ Yoto practically teleported to Avalon's side, gaping at his twin brother.

"Not just found," Yen half smiled, his eyes down on the ground. Cid was resting on his shoulder, looking like his usual majestic self. "I fixed him. He was in rough shape." Cid nodded and gave Yen a nudge on the cheek in gratitude. Yen chuckled and patted Cid on the head.

"Wow, 'e really took a shine to yew!" Avalon looked impressed. She stepped forward and held out her arm for her Crowla. Cid let out a caw of joy and leapt onto Avalon's arm and climbed up to her shoulder, obviously relieved to see his beloved owner again. "I owe yew one, Yen."

"No, you don't owe me anything…" Yen flicked his bangs to the side, but they quickly returned to their place over his eye. "I just…wanted to help, okay?"

"Well, I'm glad yew did," Avalon leaned down and gave Yen a small kiss on the forehead of his mask. "Thank you, Yen, yew're a good man."

The cheeks of Yen's mask darkened. He promptly flicked his hood up and jammed his hands into his hoodie pockets. "I-it was nothing. I'm gonna go…go home. Glad you're okay…Avalon…" With that, Yen took off briskly toward his family's tiny house. Yoto couldn't help noticing that Yen was walking a bit…perpendicularly.

"Heheheh!" Yoto snickered and elbowed Avalon in the ribs. "Hey Avvie, I think he likes you!"

"The boy has good taste!" Bart nodded in approval and Avalon tilted a brow at him. Bart held up his hands. "Just saying, I know a good woman when I see one!"

"Don't be silly," Avalon shook her head. "We barely know each other."

Cid let out a noise that sounded like a mix between a cough and a caw.

"Oh wow, how cute…" Leena turned pink. "I always thought no one could get through to Yen!"

"Oh man, I'm gonna badgesicle him until he spills the beans!" Yoto wriggled his fingers and laughed maniacally. "You'll know the truth soon enough, Avalon! Oh man, you'll be the BEST sister-in-law!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Avalon gave Yoto a very serious look. "And don't yew spread any rumors! I don't want my reputation tarnished!"

Yoto slumped and stuck out his lower lip. "You're no fun, Avvie."

Storkos had gone quiet once the talk about Yen's possible affections became the topic. She finally tugged on Yoto's sleeve.

"Hey, Yoto?" she asked, her voice low. "Can we talk?"

"Of course!" Yoto turned to face Storkos, an impish grin adorning his face. "What about?"

"I'd like to talk in private, if that's okay," Storkos hooked her arm through Yoto's. She was wearing a smile, but Yoto noticed that it looked a bit thin, not close to her usual full grin at all… "Sorry, gotta borrow Yoto for a minute!" Storkos called over her shoulder.

"Keep 'em!" Bart flicked his wrist at her.

Storkos couldn't help chuckling at that and Yoto joined her. She led him off into the jungle near the Village edge.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

They didn't have to venture too far into the mess of trees and vines before they found a nice clearing. It was filled with wild bluebells and the occasional snoozing Bispotti. Everything looked stunning in the low light of the setting sun.

"Oh, it's nice here…" Yoto's heart fluttered as Storkos smoothed her dress and sat down on the grass. She patted the ground next to her and Yoto instantly joined her on the ground.

"What did you want to talk about?" Yoto asked Storkos, wondering if he should put his hand over hers or not.

He didn't have to, because Storkos took both of his hands and looked straight into his eyes. "Yoto…about those kisses…" Storkos averted her eyes for a moment and bit her lip before she continued. "I…really do like you. I like you a _lot._ You're funny, you're cute, and you're brave…but…"

Yoto felt his heart flop into his stomach. "Buh-but what?" The look of devastation on Yoto's face broke Storkos' heart.

"My job…" Storkos squeezed Yoto's hands tighter, as if he would be taken away from her if she didn't keep him in a firm hold. "It's demanding, especially since I'll have a huge backup of egg deliveries once I start work again. I…I don't have time for a relationship that would keep you satisfied, that would keep _me_ satisfied…I think I'm destined to be delivering eggs forever…" Storkos sounded like she wanted to cry, but she kept herself from doing it. Heroines _never_ cried, even when they felt their chest twisting into a knot of horrible, new emotions.

"Don't say that!" Yoto sounded almost desperate. "Storkos…you have _no idea_ how long I've liked you…sorry if this sounds creepy, but I've been admiring you for _years!_ If I have to wait for you to get time off, or share your shift with someone else that can fly, or even have to waltz up to Piñata Central and threaten Langston with death, I'd be willing to do it!" Tears were falling from beneath Yoto's mask now, leaving behind wet streaks on his reddened face. "I've waited so long for you, Storkos. I'd be willing to wait longer."

Storkos was silent for a few moments before lifting up her mask and looking straight at Yoto. "You're too sweet," Her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled and Yoto was utterly dumbfounded by her face. She was even prettier than he had imagined; her face was round and youthful, her eyes were bright and filled with pride, and her nose was perky. "If you think you can do it, I'll gladly wait for you, too…" Storkos reached for the sides of Yoto's mask, hesitated, and parted her lips as if to say something. Yoto placed a finger over her mouth.

"Go ahead," Yoto mentally patted himself on the back for managing to keep his voice from quivering. Storkos lifted up Yoto's mask and, thankfully, lit up when she saw his fully revealed face.

Storkos removed one of her gloves and placed her uncovered hand on Yoto's cheek. "Most other guys would run screaming if the girl they liked had a demanding job like mine…"

"Yeah, well, those guys would be completely stupid to let a girl like you go," Yoto's freckled face burst into the reddest blush Storkos had ever seen.

Storkos let out a cry of joy and finally let two tears fall from her eyes. She threw herself into Yoto's arms and kissed him, her tears mingling with the ones on his face.

The two of them broke apart and held each other wordlessly in the jungle clearing until the sun was completely down. They weren't sure how long had passed. Minutes? Hours? Days?

Neither of them cared. The silence was broken when Storkos' Alert System started to ring with the croaking of a Lickatoad. She scowled and turned the system off.

"I'm not going to worry about Langston tonight," Storkos pressed her nose against Yoto's and closed her eyes. "If he's so worried, he can deliver the goddamned eggs."

Yoto burst into laughter, but was quickly silenced with a kiss from Storkos.

Yoto didn't care that he would barely see her. He would treasure every single millisecond the two of them had together, he loved her more than anything else in the world. That alone gave him confidence that their relationship would stay strong.

_VPVPVPVPVPVPVPVP_

Dastardos floated into his house, practically lopsided, and cradling an enormous bump on his head. Magnar scuttled out from under the couch and launched like a rocket into Dastardos' chest.

"You're home!" Magnar squeaked with joy as Dastardos fumbled to catch the tiny piñata. "I missed you _soooo_ much!"

"Urgh, not so loud, Magnar," Dastardos placed the Macaraccoon on the couch and began to undo the strap of his mask. "I got a nasty bump from that stupid ginger kid." Dastardos threw his mask unceremoniously into the corner of the room.

"What an asshole," Magnar hissed, having picked up some of Dastardos' less than savory vocabulary throughout the years. "Want me to sneak into his house and bite his throat open?"

"Yes, but we both know that you can't do that…" Dastardos yawned and dropped onto the couch. "We'd get in trouble…"

"Hmph…" Magnar curled into a tiny ball in the corner of the couch.

Dastardos curled up on the couch himself and closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than a good rest after having to deal with Pester's three hour long drunken ramblings about his failed plan on top of a nasty hit in the head.

He felt sleep starting to pull him down when he was awakened by a beeping coming from his pocket.

"Damn it, Pester…" Dastardos grumbled as he dug for his Alert System. Once his eyes focused, he actually gasped when he saw what was on the screen.

"What? Stardos? What? Is something wrong?" Magnar leapt to his feet and tried to look at Dastardos' Alert System screen.

"No, it's…nothing…go back to sleep…" Dastardos rubbed the bump on his head and put his Alert System back into his pocket. "It was just…something I didn't expect to see."

It wasn't a message from Pester, nor a demand to euthanize a sick piñata. It was just a simple message in white text that popped up in a blue box.

_Avalon Pendragonache is waiting for you to take your turn in Draw Something! Don't keep her waiting!_


End file.
